Authors Alice Pittini Laurent Ghekière Julien Dijol Igor Kiss

Contributing Author-Editor Michalis Goudis

Design Razvan Suciu (www.rzvns.blogspot.ro)

Acknowledgments This publication was made possible thanks to the help and expertise provided by Housing Europe’s members www.housingeurope.eu/section-22/our-members

We would also like to thank the following experts who have directly contributed to this report through their updates and revisions: József Hegedüs (Metropolitan Research Institute), Ruth Owen (FEANTSA), Artur Polak (Ministry of Infrastructure and Development of ), Orna Rosenfeld (UNECE), Christoph Schmid (University of Bremen), Richard Sendi (Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of ), Elena Szolgayová (Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development of ).

* While every effort has been made to ensure that the data and other information in this report are accurate, some errors may remain.

Housing Europe, the European Federation for Public, Cooperative and Social Housing Brussels, 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Housing Europe profile ...... 5 2. Forewords from Marc Calon & Sorcha Edwards ...... 7 2.1. Responsible housing is the key for a better future ...... 8 2.2. About this report. The state of housing in the Union 2015: informing policy, inspiring innovation ...... 10 3. Housing markets and housing conditions in the EU. A cross-country observation ...... 13 3.1. Short overview of housing market dynamics ...... 14 3.2. Major gaps and shortfalls identified ...... 16 3.3. Housing policies across the EU: Latest developments ...... 23 4. Tenancy law and housing policy in Europe: The TENLAW project ...... 26 5. Social Housing in the UNECE regions: Models, trends and challenges ...... 26 6. Homelessness in the EU ...... 27 7. Country profiles ...... 29 7.1. ...... 30 7.2. ...... 32 7.3. Bulgaria ...... 36 7.4. ...... 38 7.5. ...... 40 7.6. ...... 42 7.7. ...... 44 7.8. ...... 46 7.9. ...... 48 7.10. ...... 50 7.11. ...... 52 7.12. ...... 54 7.13. ...... 56 7.14. ...... 58 7.15. ...... 62 7.16. ...... 64 7.17. ...... 66 7.18. ...... 68 7.19. ...... 70 7.20. The ...... 72 7.21. Poland ...... 74 7.22. ...... 76 7.23. ...... 78 7.24. Slovak Republic ...... 80 7.25. Slovenia ...... 82 7.26. ...... 84 7.27. ...... 86 7.28. ...... 88 8. Social housing in the EU: new opportunities, new challenges ...... 93 8.1. Housing and the EU investment plan ...... 94 8.2. Housing and the European economic governance (“The European Semester”) ...... 95 8.3. Housing and EU regional policy (European Structural and Investment Funds) ...... 96 8.4. Housing and the energy union ...... 98 8.5. Needs and empowerment of citizens...... 98 8.6. Financing of energy efficiency ...... 99 8.7. Energy market integration...... 99 8.8. Enabling EU legislation ...... 99 8.9. Housing and the EU competition and internal market framework ...... 100 8.10. Housing and the EU social policies ...... 100 9. Which direction for housing policies after the crisis? ...... 103 9.1. Which future for housing policies after the crisis? ...... 104 9.2. Future of social housing: waiting for the judge ...... 105 10. Housing Europe members ...... 106 • 267 000 new dwellings completed in the year 2012 • 155 000 dwellings refurbished in the year 2012 • 38 529 430 000 Euros investment in 2012 • 88 480 107 000 Euros turnover in 2012 • 7 170 staff employed by the federations • 369 024 staff employed by local housing providers

THIS STATE OF HOUSING IS A KEY INDICATOR OF THE STATE OF THE UNION

LAURENT GHEKIERE Housing Europe Observatory Chairman

Housing is a complex good, at the crossroads of economic, HOUSING EUROPE social, urban and political dimensions. Housing is both a IS THE EUROPEAN FEDERATION fundamental right recognized by the and a major economic driver for its growth and its employment. OF PUBLIC, COOPERATIVE This first report on the state of housing in the Union, draws SOCIAL HOUSING. up a first analysis of the situation of European citizens facing the need to satisfy this basic need. While expenditures on housing of European households are growing, while housing needs are becoming increasingly complex, changing in time and space, it is now a necessity for European policy makers to take this reality into account and to integrate this first state of housing in the Union to their forward thinking and their legislative output .

Established in 1988, it is a network of 42 national and regional federations which together gather about 41.400 public, social and cooperative housing providers in 22 countries. Altogether they manage over 25 million homes, about 12% of existing dwellings in the EU. Social, public and co-operative housing providers have a vision of a Europe which provides access to decent and affordable housing for all in communities which are socially, THE OBSERVATORY economically and environmentally sustainable and where everyone is enabled to reach their full potential. Therefore, Launched in 2004, the Observatory is the research branch they do not just provide affordable homes but a number of of Housing Europe. The main aim of the Observatory is other services such as: to identify research needs and analyse key trends in the • Domiciliary care and support services for residents with field of housing and social housing at European level, and specific needs thus support Housing Europe's policy work by providing • Additional services for tenants (kindergartens, community strategic and evidence-based analysis. centres, employment and training services, financial advice) Besides from regularly publishing its own reports and • Neighbourhood services research briefings, the Observatory participates into a • Management of other types of ‘sheltered’ accommodation number of EU-funded research projects and liaises with • Urban development and urban regeneration European and international agencies and networks such as OECD, UNECE, ENHR. OUR IMPACT Chair: Laurent Ghekiere - USH, France • 43 000 local housing organizations Vice-Chair: Klaus Lugger - GBV, Austria • 26 090 000 dwellings – that is over 11 % of the total EU Research Coordinator: Alice Pittini housing stock Research Assistant: Igor Kiss

5 FOREWORD FROM MARC CALON & SORCHA EDWARDS RESPONSIBLE HOUSING IS THE KEY FOR A BETTER FUTURE MARC CALON Housing Europe President

It’s been already seven years since the beginning of the financial crisis and as you will see for yourselves over ...I would expect the next pages the state of housing in the EU hasn’t gotten much better. For all of us working for the public, cooperative and social housing sector the figures presented that they open by our Observatory should work as an alarm bell that will make us work harder both at European and at national themselves level to provide every person in the continent, if possible, with a decent, affordable and safe home. Housing is the foundation for people’s lives and their priority among their to the needs needs. We should make sure that it becomes a priority for policy makers, too. of people I see three major challenges for us: • Guarantee cities which are accessible and affordable and shorten for all • More sustainable, efficient and decentralised energy the distance • And neighbourhoods where people feel secure and where they can reach their full potential. to EU institutions Through housing and accompanying services - the hardware and the software – we can ensure stable and affordable housing markets; we can drive the energy transition in the housing sector; we can fight social segregation in urban and rural regions. We already do! Housing Europe members as well as many other housing associations across Europe have already committed themselves to the values and practices of Responsible Housing, paving the way for a better future economically, environmentally and socially.

Demographic changes – and their impact on health services - will pose major challenges in many regions. Further urbanization of Europe must be beneficial to all households, including those with lower incomes.

Social, public and cooperative housing providers must be seen as part of the economic strength and welfare of the EU. It will be essential for EU policies and regulation to recognize these forces and ensure suitable financial schemes are available in member states. EU decision making is still too remote for the average EU citizen. That is why I would expect EU institutions to open themselves to the needs of people and shorten the distance between Brussels and European citizens. Organizations such as Housing Europe have an important role to facilitate this as connector between local needs and EU policies.

8 This requires a coherent, constructive informed approach at ABOUT EU level, something which is not yet a reality. THIS REPORT. Country Profiles and Cross-Country Analysis THE STATE The first part of the 2015 edition of the State of the Housing in the Union builds upon the Housing Europe Observatory’s OF HOUSING 2012 Housing Europe Review ‘The nuts and bolts of European social housing systems’ aims to address this IN THE UNION policy blind spot by describing the different housing systems country by country with an additional cross-country analysis of the latest trends and changes to the housing 2015: systems, highlighting in particular the on-going impact of the crisis and efforts being made- or not- by Member States INFORMING to address housing shortages and homelessness. Also included are summaries of additional housing research and studies including those produced by the United Nations POLICY, Economic Committee for Europe Housing and other INSPIRING European networks. EU Policy updates – INNOVATION challenges and opportunities SORCHA EDWARDS The second part describes a selection of the EU regulations Housing Europe Secretary General and funding opportunities of relevance for housing. This covers the EU Investment Plan, the EU Cohesion Policy Too often housing reports and policies show a lack of regard which identifies areas of relevance for EU financial support: for the fact that housing markets are not limited to individual energy efficiency measures in housing as part of the low- private ownership and private rental. People rent their homes carbon economy, housing as a social infrastructure and from municipally- owned housing companies, they own or urban regeneration. The European Social Fund and the rent housing in buildings run by not-for-profit or limited-profit Employment and Social Innovation Programme. housing cooperatives and have a ‘one member – one vote’ The regulatory measures covered in this section include the say in the management of their homes and surroundings, European Energy Union which is setting the EU policy scene they own homes on land managed by community land for the coming years, the European economic governance trusts (CLT), they live in shared-equity housing provided by mechanism through which member states receive country housing association, they rent from housing associations specific recommendations on their housing systems from which by law involve them in all decisions affecting their EU authorities, EU state aid legislation through which the homes and communities. The activities of these housing European Commission has influence on the scope of providers are not always limited to housing but often include provision of social housing and EU procurement laws which home care and support services for residents with specific regulates the tendering practices for large contracts. needs, additional services like kindergartens, community centres, employment and training services, financial advice, Inspiring Innovation neighbourhood services, management of other types of ‘sheltered’ accommodation, energy renovation, urban The report also includes highlights of initiatives promoting development and urban regeneration. innovation and exchange on tackling energy poverty with new refurbishment solutions and local solar energy This diversity of models and tenures and activities has its production in social housing, innovative approaches to roots in different histories and traditions but is driven by combining housing and social support and the responsible a common objective: to meet the demand for affordable, housing campaign & awards which promote the state quality homes and neighbourhoods. Having a home, this of the art in responsible housing and corporate social basic pre-requisite for taking part in society, is something responsibility. which now is out of reach for a growing number of Europeans highlighting the need to again mobilise all resources to expand existing solutions and come up with new ones.

EU policies have an increasing impact on housing but often reveal a blind spot when it comes to the diverse housing needs and the diverse responses in place and those now required around Europe as well as the advantages this diversity offers society, the environment and individuals. There is a need for European policies which recognise and respect this diversity where it exists and fosters it where it does not, thereby contributing to the common objective.

10 HOUSING MARKETS AND HOUSING CONDITIONS IN THE EU. A CROSS- COUNTRY OBSERVATION CONSTRUCTION COSTS • Chart 1: CONSTRUCTION PRICE LEVEL INDEX IN THE EU 28 (EU AVERAGE = 100) (Source: Eurostat, data referring SHORT to 2013): High construction costs have an impact on the capacity to supply affordable housing in a number of countries, notably OVERVIEW Sweden where construction costs are the highest in the EU. The price level index presented in the chart below provides a OF HOUSING comparison of countries' price levels with respect to the EU average: if the PLI is higher than 100, the country concerned is relatively expensive compared to the EU average, while if MARKET the index is lower than 100, then the country is relatively DYNAMICS inexpensive compared to the EU average (see Chart 1). The financial crisis had a strong impact in the short term MORTGAGES on the housing market of almost all European countries, notably with the exception of Germany, that saw as a result The average EU 27 total outstanding residential loans to of the ‘shock’ lower construction rates, less transactions, GDP ratio has continued increasing since the information a decrease in house prices. became available: from 43% in 2004 to 52% at present. The total outstanding residential debt to disposable income of households ratio has also increased dramatically from 66.4 PRICES in 2004 to 81.8% in 2012. The countries with the highest levels of mortgage debt are the Netherlands, Denmark, the What we see today, 6 years into the crisis is a very different UK, and Sweden (see Chart 2). picture. As the European Commission highlighted in its Nevertheless, the crisis has strongly impacted mortgage last Alert Mechanism Report, ‘In 2013, housing markets lending. According to the European Mortgage Federation • Chart 2: OUTSTANDING RESIDENTIAL LOANS TO GDP RATIO (Source: EMF HYPOSTAT 2013, data referring to 2012): became more heterogeneous across the EU. […] This ‘gross residential lending in the EU27 in 2012 stood at widening of the distribution reflects the fact that the market only 45.8% of the amount recorded in 2007. in most Member States has already bottomed out while However, these figures concealed diverse growth dynamics others are expected to do so only in the coming years’. If in at country level.’ Two groups of countries can be identified: ‘vulnerable’ countries such as Greece, Cyprus and Slovenia one with national mortgage markets where gross lending house prices continue falling, Ireland is an exception in that has followed a positive or stagnant trend between 2007 house prices have begun rising again after the sharp fall and 2012; the other composed of countries where gross during the crisis. On the contrary in Sweden and in the UK lending has moved along a downward trend over the same house prices are increasing although they were already period. The first group includes Belgium and Sweden, relatively high. Elsewhere, for instance in Denmark and in as well as Denmark and France. The second subclass Germany recovery from past falls and/or low prices have contains Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and the UK. triggered increases. This also applies to Estonia and Although contrary to the other countries of the group, in the Latvia, the only two countries that in 2013 had a year on UK the trend has not been downwards since 2009. year increase in deflated house prices over 6%.For an To learn more about trends in mortgage lending: overview of house prices dynamics across the EU • EMF HYPOSTAT http://goo.gl/q4KrKn and worldwide: • Standard & Poor’s (2014). Economic Research: Europe’s housing markets may be on a slow path to TENURES recovery http://goo.gl/DA7GNJ • EMF HYPOSTAT http://goo.gl/FyjnIM Owner occupied dwellings today still represent by far • OECD Focus on house prices http://goo.gl/r5ONlH the most widespread form of occupation in the EU. • IMF Global Housing Watch http://goo.gl/Zos6iH Nevertheless, in many countries recent dynamics have started to encourage an increase in rental housing compared to the past. While during most of the 90s and RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION 2000s sustained house price growth coupled with relatively AND INVESTMENT low interest rates and policies favouring homebuyers led to an increase in home ownership, today less people Compared to 2007, the number of building permits per can afford to buy a home and/or would rather rent due to 1,000 inhabitants contracted in all countries, excluding mobility reasons. Data from EU SILC shows that indeed the Germany, albeit at different paces: it decreased by less distribution of population across tenures saw an increase than half in Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Poland and in tenants and a decrease in owner-occupiers since 2007 Sweden, whereas the contraction exceeded this threshold in the EU 15. On the contrary, overall the share of owner in Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, Portugal and Spain. The occupiers has continued to increase in the New Member 2015 Alert Mechanism Report points out that ‘Residential States with a parallel decrease in the share of people investment remains at subdued levels, particularly in renting (see Chart 3). Member States where corrections are still running their course. While in some cases this reflects the overinvestment of a few years ago (e.g. Spain), in others, it is related to general economic uncertainty, impaired credit supply and demand, and regulatory bottlenecks’. For data on construction activity in Europe: • FIEC (2014) Construction activity in Europe • EMF HYPOSTAT http://goo.gl/fBWbQW

14 15 LACK OF SOCIAL • Chart 3: DISTRIBUTION OF THE POPULATION BY TENURE STATUS, AVERAGE FOR EU 28, EU 15 AND NMS (Source: EU SILC, data referring to 2013): MAJOR GAPS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING

AND According to data provided by member organizations of Housing Europe, new social housing production has decreased in most countries between 2009 and 2012, SHORTFALLS including the UK, the Netherlands, Austria, Italy, Denmark, Ireland, Spain. The most significant exception is France, IDENTIFIED that has produced 116 000 new HLM (social housing) units in 2012 compared to 98 000 in 2009. The number AFFORDABILITY of households on waiting lists for social housing has increased from about 140 000 in 2008 to 186 000 in Belgium between 2008 and 2012. In France the number of In 2013 housing costs represented on average 22.2% people registered increased from about 1.2 million in 2010 of disposable income for the total population, and to about 1.7 million in 2012. In Ireland the number almost about 41% for those at risk of poverty. The relatively doubled between 2008 and 2010 (from 56 000 to 98 000) highest housing costs are to be found in Greece, Denmark, and decreased to about 90 000 in 2012. In Italy the number the Netherlands, Germany, Romania, Czech Republic and of people on waiting lists for public housing has increased Sweden. In Austria the share is below EU average for the from 600 000 in 2008 to currently about 650 000. In the total population but higher than EU average for those with UK in 2012 there were 90 000 people on waiting lists in an income below 60% of the national median equivalized Wales, 1.6 million in England, 41 000 in Northern Ireland income (see Chart 4). and about 185 000 in Scotland. In Estonia, the number of applications for public assistance with housing expenses Eurostat also monitors the share of the population spending that were granted since the start of the crisis rose more than over 40% of disposable income on housing costs, those 3 fold: from 26 657 in 2007 to 96 858 in 2011. that are considered ‘overburdened’ by housing costs. At its meeting on 9 March 2015, the Council of the European Union (EPSCO) endorsed the key messages of the latest DEBT LINKED TO HOUSING Annual report of the Social Protection Committee on the social situation in the European Union. The report identifies The high level of debt linked to housing is also a worrying increasing housing cost overburden rate as a ‘social phenomenon, and in particular high level of mortgage trend to watch’. indebtedness combined with the impact of the crisis • Read the report Social Europe - Aiming for inclusive on housing markets resulted into negative equity and growth - Annual report of the Social Protection defaulting mortgages in a number of countries, notably Committee on the social situation in the European Ireland and Spain but also a number of other EU countries. Union (2014) at http://goo.gl/0s0NMH (Source: IMF, for Spain: Centre for Economics and Business Research for Kelisto) In 2013 the overburden rate for the EU 28 was 11%, and 37.4% among the population with an income below 60% of the national median income. The highest rates of housing overburden are to be found in the same countries that have the highest share of housing costs (see Chart 5). When broken down by tenure, figures show that the • Chart 4: SHARE OF HOUSING COSTS IN DISPOSABLE HOUSEHOLD INCOME, FOR THE TOTAL POPULATION AND highest share of population in a situation of housing THOSE WITH INCOME BELOW 60% OF MEDIAN EQUIVALIZED INCOME (Source: EU SILC, data referring to 2013): overburden is to be found among tenants in the While Ireland, Greece and Portugal took legal measures private sector: 25.7%, compared to 10.6% among tenants to prevent banks from foreclosing primary residences, the paying a reduced rent, 7.6% of owners with a mortgage, phenomenon of housing repossessions was widespread and only 6.8% of outright owners (see Chart 6). in Spain and triggered a strong reaction from social As for household types, the largest share of people movements and the media. Precise data on housing overburdened by housing costs are people living foreclosures in Spain since the start of the crisis are alone (24.7%), followed by single persons with dependent not available, but data from the National Statistics Institute children (19.5%) (see Chart 7). (INE) show that 34 680 foreclosures procedures were initiated against people in their main residence in 2014 A GENERATIONAL GAP? alone. Interestingly, in March 2013 the European Court of Justice ruled against Spanish mortgage law, judging that Young people in a number of countries are confronted ‘legislation infringes EU law to the extent that it precludes with more difficulties to start their housing path the court which has jurisdiction to declare unfair a term compared to the former generation. This is due to a of a loan agreement relating to immovable property from combination of different elements such as high prices, staying the mortgage enforcement proceedings initiated stricter conditions for mortgage lending, little availability of separately’ (http://goo.gl/pfpTF4). rental housing, but also increasing youth unemployment, Another phenomenon resulting in increasing mortgage leads many young people to rely more on the family to fulfil indebtedness is the high number of people in Hungary, their housing needs. This phenomenon is more widespread Poland, Romania and Croatia who took out mortgages in Southern Europe and CEE countries, but recently this is extended in or indexed to foreign currencies, mainly the also the case in the UK where a recent YouGov opinion poll Swiss franc, before the crisis. found out that 77% of people think it is harder to own a home EU SILC provides data on the percentage of the population today than it was for their parents’ generation (see Chart 8). with arrears on mortgage/rent. If we look at data for

16 17 • Chart 5: HOUSING COSTS OVERBURDEN RATE AMONG TOTAL POPULATION AND THOSE WITH INCOME BELOW • Chart 7: OVERBURDEN RATE BY HOUSEHOLD TYPE, AVERAGE FOR EU 28 (Source: EU SILC, data referring to 2013): 60% OF MEDIAN EQUIVALIZED INCOME (Source: EU SILC, data referring to 2013)):

• Chart 8: SHARE OF YOUNG ADULTS AGED 18-34 LIVING WITH THEIR PARENTS IN THE EU (2013) • Chart 6: HOUSING COSTS OVERBURDEN RATE BY TENURE, AVERAGE FOR EU 28 (Source: EU SILC, data referring (Source: EU SILC, data referring to 2013): to 2013):

18 19 the total population, the highest shares are found in of Central, Eastern and Mediterranean EU countries, REGIONAL DIVERSITIES OF HOUSING MARKETS Greece (14.9%) and Ireland (12%), followed by Cyprus, particularly in Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece and Cyprus, while Hungary, Spain. The share of population with arrears on it is less of an issue in northern European countries. The mortgage/rent is much higher among those on low income, most effective and sustainable way to tackle fuel poverty and particularly in Greece, Hungary, Bulgaria, Cyprus, is through reducing the energy demand of the building by Croatia and Romania. In most countries the situation has implementing energy saving measures. significantly worsened since 2005, showing the impact of the current crisis (see Chart 9). • To know more about fuel poverty and policy responses across the EU, read BPIE (2014) Alleviating fuel poverty in the EU HOUSING QUALITY http://bpie.eu/uploads/lib/document/attachment/ 60/BPIE_Fuel_Poverty_May2014.pdf Last but not least, a key issue in some countries remains the poor quality of the housing stock. Although this phenomenon has decreased almost everywhere since HOUSING SHORTAGES 2005, lack of basic amenities (such as an indoor flushing toilet for the sole use of their household or lack of a bath/ IN METROPOLITAN AREAS shower) is still high compared to EU average in Romania, In some countries housing construction in recent years is Bulgaria, the Baltic States, Hungary and Poland. not keeping up with demographic trends. This is leading to A much higher share of the population declares living in a significant housing shortages, concentrated around dwelling with a leaking roof, damp walls, floors or foundation, the main urban centres and in the most economically or rot in window frames of floor (15.7 on average in the EU, attractive regions. This is notably the case in the UK Portugal, Cyprus, Latvia, Slovenia, Hungary, Italy), while on where in England alone about 245 000 new dwellings average 6% of the EU population considers his/her home are needed per year while only half of this amount being as too dark. built. The biggest deficiency is in London, where updated projections suggest 53 000 homes a year are required, but • OVERCROWDING is also an essential element of poor only about 27 000 have been built yearly in 2001-2011. housing quality. The EU average rate of overcrowding The Netherlands foresees a shortage of 300,000 dwellings has improved from 19.5 in 2005 to 17.1 in 2013. Hungary, by 2020, concentrated around Utrecht, Amsterdam, and Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Croatia, Czech . There is already a shortage of rental housing of Republic, Greece, Italy and Lithuania all have percentage up to 156 000 dwellings in Sweden, especially in Stockholm of the population living in overcrowded dwellings higher and in the big university cities such as Göteborg and Malmö. than the EU average, but in all these countries except for There is strong demand-side pressure in metropolitan Italy the situation has improved over the period 2005-2013. areas of Germany such as Munich and Hamburg, which are Although it remains well below the EU average, the UK has leading to an increase in prices and rents. seen an increase in overcrowding from 5.7% in 2005 to 8% On the contrary, demographic and migration trends are in 2013. leading to a decreasing population in other areas, resulting in costly structural vacancy in the housing stock. ENERGY PERFORMANCE In Germany for instance the trend towards shrinking markets, once concentrated in the states of former East OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS Germany, has already reached regions in the former West AND FUEL POVERTY Germany, primarily the south of Lower Saxony and North Hesse, as well as Upper Franconia, the Bavarian Forest The residential sector is responsible for a large share and the Ruhr area quite far in the west. Public intervention Median house price for all dwelling types of final energy consumption in Europe. An analysis of was necessary to support large scale demolitions in the by local authority district, England and the final end use of energy in the EU-27 in 2010 by Eurostat framework of urban regeneration programmes. Wales, 2013. shows households are the second most consuming category Furthermore, in areas with depressed housing markets in the EU with 26.7% of the total, after transport and before it may still be difficult for the population to find affordable industry. This has negative impact on the environment and housing options. In some areas in the North of England, climate change, with the residential sector being responsible house prices are still seven times higher than the average Source: Office for National Statistics for about 8.5% of total greenhouse gases in the EU. The salary. In areas with little economic growth, housing need to make new and existing dwellings energy-efficient is associations increasingly work in partnership with local Contains Ordnance Survey Data clear, especially in Central and Eastern Europe where a large authorities to invest in revitalizing communities, creating © Crown copyright and database right 2015 part of the housing stock shows poor energy performance jobs and supporting social enterprise. and there’s a huge need for renovation - to the point that Data produced by Land Registry Estonia, Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania have all received © Crown copyright recommendations from the European Commission to take action to improve energy efficiency in the residential sector. This data covers the transactions received Furthermore, fuel poverty is a major problem for at Land Registry in the period [01/01/2013] Europe, as according to BPIE between 50 and 125 million to [31/12/2013] people are unable to afford a proper indoor thermal comfort. © Crown copyright 2013 More specifically, in 2012, 10.8% of the total European population were unable to keep their home adequately warm, increasing to 24.4% when referring to low-income people. Despite the fact that there is no common European definition, the importance of the problem as well as the severe health impacts caused by fuel poverty are widely recognised. Fuel poverty is an acute problem in most

20 21 ownership and pushed up house prices. For instance reduction of mortgage interest deductibility was HOUSING implemented in the Baltic countries, as well as in the Netherlands and Belgium although in the two latter cases POLICIES the phasing out of such incentives will take some time. On the contrary, no changes to the taxation supporting home owners were implemented in Sweden. This kind of ACROSS THE EU: measures, complemented by banks’ more restrictive • Chart 9: SHARE OF THE POPULATION WITH ARREARS ON MORTGAGE OR RENT FOR TOTAL POPULATION AND lending policies, are leading to less demand for home THOSE WITH AN INCOME BELOW 60% OF MEDIAN EQUIVALIZED INCOME (2013): LATEST ownership.

DEVELOPMENTS FOSTERING THE RENTAL MARKET

Interestingly, Spain and Portugal, two countries characterized by a high rate of home ownership and small rental sector, very recently introduced reforms to their tenancy law. In both cases the reform followed recommendations in this sense from the European Commission (through the 2011CSRs in the case of Spain, and through the Economic Adjustment Programme in the case of Portugal), and reforms go in the direction of giving more flexibility to landlords for instance to increase rents and speeding up the eviction process, although with In 2011, the EU Network of Independent Experts on Social reference to protection of the most vulnerable tenants. At Inclusion warned that ‘housing and related services the same time in the Netherlands a complex process of emerge as one area which has been particularly reform of the rent setting system is on-going, aimed at adversely affected by the economic and financial splitting the rental sector into a regulated social sector and crisis’. Data from Eurostat on governments’ expenditure a non-regulated rental sector which is supposed to attract on 'housing and communities amenities' confirm that investment by private actors. In Germany, the rent setting on average public support for housing in the EU 27 has system is also being reviewed but in the opposite direction, decreased, from 1.1% of GDP in 2003 to 0.8% in 2012. with the introduction of further caps to rent increases in high Nevertheless, the fact that the formation of real estate demand areas from 2015. bubbles have proved to be dangerous for the overall stability of the economy, and that the social and economic impact of the crisis is making access to good quality and affordable REFORMING SOCIAL HOUSING housing harder for a large share of the population, seems to • Chart 10: SEVERE HOUSING DEPRIVATION RATE AMONG TOTAL POPULATION AND THOSE WITH INCOME BELOW have put housing back on the political agenda both at the In recent years, a number of countries characterized by 60% OF MEDIAN EQUIVALIZED INCOME (2013) (Source: EU SILC, data referring to 2013): European level and in many member states. a small social housing sector have started developing Looking at recent developments in EU countries, over the new social housing programmes. This is true for a past 3 – 4 years, we have identified some key policy issues number of CEE countries: for instance Bulgaria recently which at least two or more countries have in common. started a pilot project for social housing for vulnerable and minority groups. A new social housing concept is under discussion in Czech Republic, including temporary TACKLING OVER-INDEBTEDNESS housing for emergency situations, as well as provision by the municipality both of social housing and affordable Some member states were faced with a huge problem of housing; the first one being more socially targeted while defaulting mortgages that affected on the one hand over- affordable housing would be allocated to people below indebted households who risked losing their homes or the established income ceiling, with possibility to raise the simply could not cope with repaying their debt and on the rent if the income increases. Lithuania has announced a other had the potential to further disrupt the stability of the programme for the development of subsidised housing. banking system. This led to different measures: for instance Slovakia is finalizing a new concept of state housing policy Italy and Spain set up programmes to support which includes strengthening and developing the public vulnerable defaulting households through solidarity rental sector. Also countries in Southern Europe have funds, and Hungary and Ireland established ‘mortgage adopted plans to support new social housing provision: to let’ schemes. There were also temporary moratoria Portugal introduced the new programme ‘Social Rental on repossessions as well as legal protection for Market’; the new housing plan in Italy includes funding for households in debt at risk of losing their primary residence the renovation of public social housing as well as funding (Ireland, Portugal, Greece, later Spain). The Netherlands to the regions to increase social housing supply; and the and Denmark encouraged re-negotiation of mortgage new Spanish State Housing Plan 2013-2016 subsidises the debt. creation of public social rental housing as well as support to tenants on low income (after cuts to subsidies in 2011 had TACKLING TAXATION BIAS almost completely stopped social housing construction). Ireland has announced a 6 year strategy to supply 35 TOWARDS HOME OWNERSHIP 000 social housing units, and a thorough reform of social housing delivery and management. This new programmes At the same time, many countries took the decision to modify comes two years after radical cuts in public funding to the tax subsidies incentivising high mortgage indebtedness sector. Luxemburg has introduced financial measures to that had for decades supported sustained growth of home foster construction of affordable housing and also started

22 23 supporting provision of new rental housing through state guarantees on mortgage loans for first time buyers. planning obligations. Meanwhile, measures adopted in the England continues to support the Help to Buy scheme Netherlands such as the establishment of an income ceiling which provides equity loans or mortgage guarantees, for social housing and the introduction of a new levy on and similar programmes exist also in Scotland, Wales and housing corporations are leading to a decrease in production Northern Ireland. In England there is also a possibility for of new social dwellings. In England, overall provision of tenants of housing associations and councils to buy their affordable housing ,including social rent, affordable rent, home through Right to Buy/Right to acquire schemes while intermediate rent and affordable home ownership, peaked Scotland terminated its right to buy programme and the at 60 480 units in 2010-11 but decreased afterwards to 42 scheme is under discussion in Wales. 870 units in 2013-14. In Belgium, Spain and Italy there is an on-going process of restructuring the social housing sector and in particular INTRODUCTION through mergers of social housing providers. OF HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY in Greece, he only body providing housing support in the form of housing allowances and guaranteed on housing In early 2014 the European Parliament adopted a Resolution loans, OEK, was abolished in 2012 as part of austerity on an EU homelessness strategy. The report urges among measures. There have been no comprehensive attempts as other measures the Member States to ‘develop social of today to re-establish some form of social housing. and affordable housing adapted for the most vulnerable individuals in order to prevent social exclusion and MOBILIZING EXISTING HOUSING homelessness’. Among the EU Member States, Czech Republic, England, Ireland, Luxemburg, Northern Ireland all STOCK AS PRIVATE PROPERTY launched a new homelessness strategy recently. FOR SOCIAL USE • For information on national and regional homelessness strategies in Europe see the webpage National Homelessness Strategies at For instance Belgium and Luxemburg have established http://goo.gl/NG0y6w social rental agencies that act as an intermediary between Read the Resolution by the European Parliament at private landlords and low-income households. Most recently http://goo.gl/ETmWKP there have been attempts to implement similar models in Italy, Spain and Hungary. Italy also provides tax incentives to landlords who are willing to charge moderate rents, agreed with the municipality, and has recently increased the related tax benefits. Malta has recently launched a programme to mobilize privately owned vacant homes for social housing, by guaranteeing rent benefits to the occupants. Ireland and ...develop social Spain have implemented programmes to use empty homes owned by banks as social housing, and a similar scheme was recently launched in Portugal. and affordable Taxation of empty homes is also being applied, in some cases at local level (Brussels, some Spanish municipalities), housing adapted in other cases at national level (Portugal). Another very interesting development is that some countries are trying to tackle speculation on land price, for the most for instance through leasing instead of selling public plots in Luxemburg, or through Community Land Trusts (CLT) in vulnerable Belgium. individuals INTRODUCTION / INCREASE OF HOUSING ALLOWANCES in order Lithuania has recently introduced rent allowances, and Latvia and Bulgaria have increased the amount of housing to prevent benefits, although it remains limited. Luxemburg introduced rent subsidies, which in 2011 constituted the largest social exclusion category of aid by the local social offices. Most recently, the Greek parliament adopted a ‘humanitarian crisis’ bill which includes the temporary introduction of housing allowances and as well as a minimum quota of free electricity for the poorest households. homelessness... PROGRAMMES TO FACILITATE ACCESS TO HOME OWNERSHIP

Italy, Slovakia and Poland have launched programmes aimed at helping young people / young couples to buy their first home. Romania and Slovenia also provide

24 • The Tenlaw project has received funding from the transportation. Even in the countries with substantial funds TENANCY LAW European Union Seventh Framework Programme under for social housing the waiting lists are marking historical grant agreement number 290694. records. Lack of access to decent affordable housing corrodes neighbourhoods, the economy and the future. AND HOUSING Ambitions for sustainable development are likely to be SOCIAL thwarted by its absence. POLICY The UNECE study ‘Social Housing in the UNECE Region: Models, Trends and Challenges (2015)’ has an important IN EUROPE: HOUSING role in bringing social housing to the forefront of the housing agenda in the 56 countries of the UNECE region. It is a IN THE UNECE part of integrated efforts to support sustainable urban THE TENLAW development in the region and economic development. In its nine chapters the study provides a comprehensive overview PROJECT REGION: of current trends in housing provision (including, housing supply, choice and quality), social housing finance in the Considering that 1/3 of European citizens rent a home, the MODELS, regions, it addresses the uniqueness of national housing continuing reticence of a deliberate European approach to systems through analysis of ‘social housing’ definitions residential tenancy regulation is untenable. Tenancy Law and examines challenges related to decentralisation and and Housing Policy in Multi-level Europe, the Tenlaw project, TRENDS AND governance. Significantly, the UNECE social housing has set out to provide the most extensive comparative provides guidance for policymakers whose actions can research to date in the field and thereby stimulate the have an effect on where and how people live with the goal dialogue toward ending non-action at the European level. CHALLENGES to increase the accessibility to affordable housing for all.

The Tenlaw project’s national reports for 31 countries • To download the study please follow the link: (EU-28 plus Scotland, and ) take http://www.unece.org/leginstr/hlm.html an interdisciplinary view, observing residential tenancy regulation in its political, social, and economic contexts. A comparison of these national reports first at the regional level inquires into the commonalities and divergences HOMELESSNESS among the housing situations, housing policies and housing regulation of small groups of similar welfare states. A final IN THE EU consortium-wide report will consolidate the great volume of information generated in the national and regional reports, The European Observatory on Homelessness has looked so that a perspective emerges for a recommendation on a in detail at the available recent data on homelessness from proper European role which abstains from intrusive the majority of EU Member States. The number of people harmonization measures but deals with national experiencing homelessness has increased in all divergences constructively. countries under review except for Finland. France had seen an increase in homelessness, estimated as up to 50% Work is still in progress, but preliminary findings have between 2001 and 2011. Denmark reported a 16% increase already emerged. Generally, across much of Europe a between 2009 and 2013, and Germany a 21% increase. significant preference for home ownership is reported, The Netherlands also saw a 17% increase between 2010 and renting suffers from an image as an inferior, temporary and 2012, and Sweden a 29% increase in people living form of tenure. This dynamic perpetuates a housing policy rough, using homelessness services and living in institutions bias in favour of owner occupied housing and against with no home to go to. In any case one should keep in mind rented housing. To the extent that this inevitably impacts the definition of homelessness was broadened in Sweden. subsidization and taxation systems, a goal of tenure In the UK, the numbers of homeless households requesting neutrality from the perspective of the consumer will be and being accepted for assistance under homelessness hardly achievable under the existing overriding tenure laws were reported as rising by 6% and 8% respectively bias. Additionally, the good functioning of tenancy markets between 2009 and 2010 and between 2012 and 2013. In depends on renting remaining attractive for landlords and the Czech Republic, the city of Brno saw a 44% increase investors. in homelessness between 2010 and 2014, although fewer data on trends were generally available from Eastern EU Member States. In terms of demographic features This requires that burdens of social regulation imposed of the homeless population, the increase in youth on landlords must not be too onerous and therefore homelessness is probably the most striking. prevent them from making adequate gains and returns. Single fields of private tenancy regulation, such as rent Decent affordable housing is the bedrock upon which to • For updated data and trends on homelessness in the control and security of tenure in particular, are thus being build healthy lives, strong and resilient cities, and thriving EU: European Observatory on Homelessness (2014) evaluated based on their potential to achieve an effective national economies. Housing sector in the global north is Extent and Profile of Homelessness in European socio-economic balance between providing tenants still trying to bounce back from the financial crisis of 2008. Member States: A Statistical Update with affordable and stable housing and imposing only http://goo.gl/kcvM3R acceptable burdens on landlords and investors, so as not The new study brought by the United Nations Economic to act as disincentives. Commission for Europe highlights that at least 100 million low - and middle-income people in the UNECE region are The final report, and thus completion of the Tenlaw project, housing cost overburdened; they spend more than 40 per is anticipated in October 2015. More information and the cent of their disposable income on housing. High housing draft national reports can be found on the project website costs for low-income households leave limited resources www.tenlaw.uni-bremen.de for other basic needs, such as food, health, clothing and

26 27 COUNTRY PROFILES AUSTRIA 20,1 SOCIAL RENT TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS Limited profit The Austrian system of housing has provided relatively stable and affordable housing conditions and has not experienced a major boom or significant rise in home and municipal ownership. Therefore, the impact of the crisis on the housing market was less significant in Austria compared to housing have most other EU countries (1). Nearly 51 000 dwellings were built in the country in 2013, an important role that is an increase of approximately 16 % compared to 2012 28,3 and almost 30 % compared to 2011. Housing quality is high in Austria, and the average living in Austria, PRIVATE RENT space for households has been constantly increasing. Today the average dwelling measures slightly over 100 as it accounts for square meters, with an average 4.1 rooms per dwelling. The average share of housing costs on disposable income increased between 2005 and 2013, when it reached altogether about 19,2%. Private household living in rented dwellings spend on average one quarter of their available household income 20% of the total on housing. Rents including running costs increased by 13 % between 2009 and 2013, with a higher increase in rents in the private market. Average rent including housing costs housing stock, 51,6 amounted to 452 EUR per month in 2013 (2). OWNER OCCUPIED Today due to high immigration there is high demand for and 51% of the affordable housing. While the total construction output in terms of quantity seems to be sufficient, there is lack of Key Data: rental housing with low to medium rent level. rental sector Total number of dwellings (thousands): 4 441 Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 555 POLICY DEVELOPMENTS Total housing completions in 2012/13: 52 000 The main objective of Austrian housing policy is to provide affordable and high quality housing to its citizens. Austria has pursued a supply-oriented housing strategy, which Social housing in Austria: contrasts with the drift towards more demand-side strategies Total number of social rental dwellings: 891 000 reliant on rent allowances to achieve housing goals in other Yearly social housing completion in 2012/13: 15 000 European countries. Limited profit and municipal housing play an important role in Austria, as they accounts for Providers: municipalities, Limited-Profit sector (including altogether for about 20% of the total housing stock, and cooperatives and companies), also limited provision by 51% of the rental sector. At present there is discussion on additional public incentives for-profit providers to increase the production in the rental sector, to respond to (Sources: 2011 Census, GBV, Statistics Austria) increasing demand for affordable rental housing.

References: • High quality of dwellings, large living space (1) Edwin Deutsch, Julie Lawson (2013) International measures to channel investment towards affordable rental • Low share of people with arrears on mortgage/rent payment, housing: Austrian case study, Australian Housing and Urban and relatively low level of outstanding mortgage debt compared to GDP Research Institute, http://apo.org.au/node/34172 as well as to household income (2) All data from Statistics Austria, http://www.statistik.at/web_en/statistics/housing/index. • Low share of population with arrears on utilities or unable to keep home html warm • Stable housing market little impacted by the global financial crisis

• Both in terms of rent affordability, share of housing costs out of disposable income, as well as housing overburden rate, Austria scores better in terms of share of housing costs than EU average, but slightly worse if we look at low income population

30 Since the first Belgian Housing Act of 1889, the main objective of central government has been to encourage BELGIUM owner-occupation, regardless of the political party in power (3). This has been done mainly through a favorable fiscal regime supporting home-buyers. When taking 1,2 into account both federal and regional subsidies, the OTHER average homeowner in Flanders receives 4.3 times more TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS housing benefits than the average tenant (6). Moreover, the tax deductibility of interest and capital repayments on In Belgium over 2 out of 3 dwellings are occupied by their mortgage loans disproportionally benefits the better-off. As owner. There’s a strong preference for home ownership housing taxation has now become a regional competence, in such extent that Belgians are said to be ‘born with Flanders has implemented initial reforms to limit the a brick in the belly’. Looking more in detail at the three tax deductibility and Wallonia has decided to slightly regions, Flanders is the one with the highest share of home 6,5 reduce the rate of deductibility for new mortgages, while owners and the lowest share of rental Brussels has decided to keep the current ‘bonus logement’ SOCIAL RENT housing. On the contrary, Brussels has the highest share unchanged until at least 2017. both of tenants at market price and social housing, while The three regions have different priorities linked with the Wallonia is in-between the former two (1). local conditions. For instance, the Brussels Region is According to the OECD "Better Life Index", housing confronted with high and increasing demand for conditions in Belgium are in general good, as dwellings affordable housing, as population is expected to reach are of high quality and large, while housing costs are 1 200 000 inhabitants by 2020, an increase "by" 15 000 average. However, according to experts the large increase inhabitants per year on average. Therefore, the Brussels 27,5 in house prices of the past decade, fuelled by generous Region uses a vacancy fee to prevent empty homes, a tax conditions, has led to overpricing which requires measure has been strengthened in 2010. Furthermore, PRIVATE RENT close monitoring. Nevertheless the fact that demand for modifications in 2013 to the Brussels Housing Code housing is expected to continue to increase as the number brought about some changes to the social housing sector in of households is expected to grow by 11% between 2013 the Region: first of all, households living in social dwellings and 2030 led the OECD to conclude that risk of a significant with more than one 'spare' room will have to move to a fall in house prices does not appear immediate (2). Unlike home more adapted to the household size. Furthermore, many other EU countries, the housing market in Belgium social housing companies can now provide homes also for appeared relatively unaffected by the global financial households with modest/intermediate revenues to support 64,8 crisis, with steady growth of house prices and availability of social mix (maximum 20% of each development, and max mortgage credit, low average amount of mortgage debt per 10% of the housing stock of a SISP). Finally a number of OWNER OCCUPIED capita and relatively low loan to value ratios (3). other innovative measures are promoted by the Code such Although the share of home owners experiencing as intergenerational housing, co-housing, community land affordability problems is small and falling, increase in house trust, groupes d'epargne collective solidaire. prices puts market access for first-time buyers under pressure. The rental market is small, with long waiting References: Key Data: lists for social housing and tenants in the private (1) Statistics Belgium, Census 2011 Total number of dwellings (thousands): 5 203,4 market spending an increasing share of their income http://census2011.fgov.be/idk/idk2_fr.html on housing. In particular in Brussels, one out of five (2) OECD (2015) OECD Economic Surveys: Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 473 households face high housing costs due to more expensive Belgium – Executive summary http://www.oecd.org/eco/ Total housing completions: nav accommodation and a larger share of the population at risk surveys/ of poverty than in the other Regions. If in 2004 the population (3) National report on Belgium, TENLAW with an income up to the 6th income decile could access http://www.tenlaw.uni-bremen.de/ Social housing in Belgium: 44% of the private rental market in Brussels, today this (4) Observatoire régional de l'habitat, share is much lower with only about 10% of private rental Observatoire des Loyers 2013 Total number of social rental dwellings: 292 000 dwellings affordable enough for them (4). Problems related http://www.slrb.irisnet.be/publications/observatoire- Yearly social housing completion in 2012: 3 076 to housing quality are also more widespread in Brussels, regional-du-logement/observatoire-des-loyers-2013/view indicating that good and affordable housing at the (5) CEHD, CHIFFRES-CLES DU LOGEMENT EN WALLONIE (Source: Census 2011, Housing Europe General Survey 2014) bottom-end of the market is in short supply (2). Rents - 2012 http://www.cehd.be/projet/chiffres-cles in social renting are significantly lower than in private renting (6) Heylen, K., Winters, S., 2012. De verdeling van de in all three regions, on average about half the amount (5). subsidies op vlak van wonen in Vlaanderen. Steunpunt At the same time the social rental sector is relatively small Ruimte en Wonen and insufficient to meet the overall demand. Regions have ambitious plans for the construction of social housing, but • Generally good housing conditions it will take many years before these will lead to a significant • Affordability in line with EU average shrinking of the waiting lists (2). • Relatively low mortgage indebtedness despite high share of home POLICY DEVELOPMENTS ownership

In Belgium the Regions are today fully responsible for housing policies. Income tax and rent regulation of the • Limited supply of good quality affordable rental housing, especially in high private rental sector used to be in the hands of the federal demand areas such as Brussels government, but under the Sixth State Reform competences • Low housing mobility for housing taxation and private rental legislation were transferred to the Regions in July 2014 (2). • Possible overpricing requires close monitoring

32

targeted assistance to pay for rental municipal housing. The BULGARIA allowances for housing in 2011 amount to approximately 4.6 million EUR, which represents an increase of 30 % in comparison with the previous year, of 2010 (1).

References (1) Zahariev, B., Giteva, D., Yordanov, I. National Report for TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS Bulgaria, TENLAW http://www.tenlaw.uni-bremen.de/ (2) EU-SILC, data referring to 2013 Housing stock in Bulgaria consists mainly of owner- http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/c/portal/layout?p_l_ occupied dwellings. According to the 2011 Census, id=203680&p_v_l_s_g_id=0 81.7% of dwellings are owner-occupied and 18.3% are (3) EMF, Key Figures 2012 18,3 rented. The share of tenants in cities amounts to 21,8 % and http://www.hypo.org/Content/default.asp?PageID=414 only 9,3 % in villages (1). Social housing in Bulgaria consists RENT of municipally owned dwellings let to particularly needy people. Although the precise size of the sector compared to other tenures is not known, only 2.6% of the total occupied housing stock belongs to the state or municipalities (1). Bulgaria has a very high share of outright owners, with only 2.4% of the population being owners with a mortgage ...the highest (2). Indeed outstanding mortgage debt represents only 81,7 17.6% of GDP in Bulgaria, compared to an average 52% for the EU 27 (3). Despite the fact that mortgages are not share of people OWNER OCCUPIED particularly widespread, thousands of households who took on mortgages during the construction boom period who are not able 2005 – 2008, are currently facing difficulties in repaying their loans, as a consequence of higher unemployment and to keep lower wages (1). New housing construction in Bulgaria has been constantly decreasing over the past 5 years. While in their home 2009 new construction peaked with 22 058 dwellings, in 2013 only 9 250 new dwellings were completed. As housing adequately warm construction in recent years has been decreasing, reaching much lower levels than in the 1960s, one of the biggest challenges of housing policy in Bulgaria in the near future in Europe will be represented by the large share of the housing stock getting old and needing renovation (1). A combination of widespread poverty (Bulgaria has the highest share of population at risk of poverty in Europe) and poor housing quality result in a number of problems relating Key Data: to housing conditions of the Bulgarian population. Bulgaria Total number of dwellings (thousands): 3 918,2 has the highest share of people who are not able to keep their home adequately warm in Europe (44.9% Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 467 of the population) and the second highest share of people Total housing completions in 2013: 9 250 who have arrears on the payment of utilities bills (34%) (2). In 2011 the country had 1.22 million vacant units, out of a total housing stock of 3.9 million housing units (1). Despite the fact that there is no overall housing shortage in Bulgaria, the estimated overcrowding rate is 44.2%, compared to an average 17.3% at EU level, and the rate of severe housing deprivation is also very high, with 13% compared to the EU average of 5.2 (2).

POLICY DEVELOPMENTS

The National Housing Strategy of Bulgaria focuses on two main strategic goals: tackle the deterioration process of the existing housing stock, and creating a working mechanism for provision of new affordable housing (1). In 2011 Bulgaria launched a pilot project “Support for • Recently introduced pilot social housing project Provision of Modern Social Housing for Vulnerable, Minority and Socially Weak Groups and Other disadvantaged Groups”. Furthermore, as a reaction to the crisis, the • Highest share of people not able to keep their homes adequately warm Bulgarian government decided to introduce new criteria for in the EU eligibility to social assistance related to housing. Thanks to these changes extended the number of people eligible for • Poor housing quality and high overcrowding rate compared to EU average

36 References

CROATIA (1) Buršič, I., Lasan, I., Stolnik, G., Miler, V., Miloš, K., Škrebenc, J. Census of Population, Households and Dwellings 2011, First Results by Settlements. (2014) ( 4 ) 5,8 Ministarstvo graditeljstva i prostornog uredenja. Socially- OTHER supported housing construction programme – POS (2014) TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS (2) Jakopič, A., Žnidarec, M. National Report for Croatia. (2014) According to the latest Census, in 2011 Croatia had a (3) Delmendo, L.,C. Unhappy Croatia. Available online at population of 4 290 612 inhabitants, living in 1 534 148 http://goo.gl/3Vxonj private households located in 1 923 522 dwellings for permanent habitation. The total housing stock amounted to 2 246 910 housing units in the same year. In 2011 89,4 % 1,8 of households were owner-occupiers, 2.9 % tenants in SOCIAL RENT the private rental sector, 1.8 % tenants with protected rent, 0.9 % rented a part of a flat; 4,2% lived with relatives and 0,6 % were living in other types of accommodation. “Housing care As a result of the Global Financial Crisis, rent levels have decreased with the exception of cities in Dalmatia. House program for prices have also been falling constantly over the last six years. 3 The areas with highest demand of housing for sale, Homeland War especially by foreign buyers, are along the coast. In 2009 PRIVATE RENT the Law on Ownership was amended, aiming to ease the victims” includes buying process and attract more foreign property buyers to the country. 55 % of approved permits for foreign acquisitions were granted to Germans; 16 % to Austrians construction, followed by other nations. On the other hand, in non-touristic regions housing purchase supply is falling. Current levels of completions and 89,4 permits issued are close to the beginning of 1990´s. In 2012, 11 792 flats were completed – compared to a yearly average and adaptation OWNER OCCUPIED of 24 366 units in 2006 – 2008. Mortgage market in Croatia expanded from 4.7 % of GDP in of 2000 to 19.1 % in 2012. and buildings POLICY DEVELOPMENTS

Currently there are three national programs in Croatia specially adapted dealing with housing: “Housing care program for Homeland War victims”, “Socially-supported housing construction for war disabled program – POS” and “ApolitikA”. “Housing care program for Homeland War victims” Key Data: includes construction, purchase and adaptation of veterans apartments and buildings specially adapted for war disabled Total number of dwellings (thousands): 2 246,9 veterans. Over the period of 1997 - 2012 this programme Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 524 built 6 161 apartments and 184 family houses across the country. “Socially-supported housing construction programme-POS” provides funding from the state for identifying housing needs in a particular area, preparation of documentation and construction of apartments. Local self-government units provide plots and cover the costs of equipping the plots with municipal infrastructure and the state ensures funds for construction costs in the amount of 25 % of standard construction cost per square metre of usable space in the . Standard cost is determined once a year by the ministry. The Agency for Transactions and Mediation in Immovable Properties as well as local • Relatively small number of households overburdened non-profit organisations established by municipalities by housing costs are responsible for the performance of investment works related to construction and sale of apartments. “ApolitikA” is a document on Croatian architectural • Housing supply in non-touristic regions is falling policies for 2013 – 2020. It defines different measures • 71% of Croats between 18 and 34 years old still living concerning, among others, housing, construction, quality, and social issues. with their parents

38 CYPRUS References: (1) T. Konistis, National Report for Cyprus, http://www.tenlaw.uni-bremen.de/ (2) European Mortgage Federation, Hypostat 2013 12,6 http://www.hypo.org OTHER (3) Central Bank of Cyprus, Residential Property Price Index TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS 2014 Q4 (4) EU SILC, 2013 In 2011 there were 312 700 households living in 433 212 dwellings in Cyprus. The tenure structure in Cyprus in 2011 consisted of 68.6 % owner-occupied dwellings, 18.8 % rented dwellings, 11.4 % were defined as intermediate tenures (such as usufruct, right to use an immovable property, shared ownership) and 1,2 % not defined. These two latter categories are included in the pie chart above as Cyprus still has ‘other’ (1). 18,8 The impact of the financial and economic crisis led to a decrease in house prices. Nominal housing prices recorded a high share PRIVATE RENT a decline of -5.4% in 2012, up from -4.1% in 2011, -1.4% in 2010 and -4.6% in 2009, and stood at 85.4% of their 2008 of outstanding level (2). According to data from the Central Bank of Cyprus, the residential property price index at the end of 2014 had returned to the average price levels of 2006, the year in residential loans which the over-borrowing in housing loans started, leading eventually to the overheating of the sector (3). to GDP ratio: The decrease in house prices also had a significant impact on construction: the overall amount of completed new 70.9% in 2012 dwellings decreased from 18 195 new dwellings completed 68,6 in 2008, to 6 565 in 2012. OWNER OCCUPIED Overall, the recession has led to a decrease in the demand compared to for housing and for mortgage loans. The deleveraging in the real estate sector continues, and the total amount an EU-27 average of outstanding housing loans in Cyprus decreased on an annual basis by 2,8% in December 2014, compared to an annual decrease of 4,8% in December 2013 (3). of 52% Nevertheless, Cyprus still has a high share of outstanding residential loans to GDP ratio: 70.9% in 2012 compared to an average 52% for the EU 27 (2). Cyprus has a high share of the population with arrears on mortgage or rent (8.8% compared to 4.2% average for the EU), particularly among those with an income below 60% of the national median income, with almost 50% of low income Key Data: people in arrears. It also has the second highest share of population unable to keep their home adequately warm Total number of dwellings (thousands): 433,21 after Bulgaria, according to EU SILC data (4). Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 392 POLICY DEVELOPMENTS Housing completions in 2011: 9 091

Over 17 000 households in Cyprus benefit from housing support, provided by different schemes. A number of schemes are in place without any income limit, supporting home purchase (for large families and disabled people), home enlargement in case of cohabitation with relatives, amelioration of living conditions. Some schemes target specifically people on low-income or middle incomes, mainly through affordable home ownership programmes run by the Cyprus Land Development Corporation. There are also a number of programmes targeting expats with permanent residence in Cyprus, among others through rent subsidies, provision of units in specific housing estates, • Housing costs compared to disposable income as well as the housing provision of land for self-building, grants for purchase or overburden rate are the second lowest in the EU after Malta construction of a house or apartment (1). • High level of mortgage arrears, particularly among low-income population • Second highest share of population unable to keep their home adequately warm in the EU

40 Since 1998, a total of 20 000 dwellings were built with the help of state subsidies for various groups of vulnerable CZECH or disadvantaged people. Until 2010 there had been funds intended exclusively for municipalities but since REPUBLIC 2011 other bodies can apply for state funding for housing 12,3 construction, for example legal entities, businesses, non- OTHER profit organizations, etc. There is a new social housing legislative framework for the Czech Republic that has recently been approved. This TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS regulation defines and divides social housing into three tiers. The first tier or: “housing in crisis/asylum housing” will be a According to Census data, in 2011 there were 4 104 635 new type of social service for people who are in acute need inhabited dwellings in Czech Republic, out of which 43,7 of housing and they will be able to use this service for a 9,4 % were located in family houses and 55 % in multi-dwelling maximum duration of six months. The second tier or “social buildings. Out of the total occupied dwellings, 55.9% flat” will be provided by the municipality. This dwelling will COOPERATIVE were owner occupied, 22.4% occupied by tenants, 9.4% represent a lower standard housing and tenants will be HOUSING cooperative ownership, 3.4% occupied rent-free. under the supervision of a social worker. The third tier or The overall downturn in housing construction has continued “affordable flat” will be provided by the municipality and over the last six years with the biggest falls observed in the will represent a standard quality dwelling. The municipality category of family houses. 2013 saw the smallest amount will sign a contract with tenants for two years. The living of new dwellings constructed since 1998, a 7.3% reduction standard of tenants will be reviewed annually by the from the previous year. municipality and in case that it rises above set limits, the 22,4 According to the estimation of the Ministry of Regional rent could also be raised by up to 15 %. This project will be Development, there is no general housing deficit in the co-financed by the EU Structural Funds (ESIF). RENT Czech Republic. However, it can be very roughly estimated that in 2013 there were 100 000 – 120 000 households in References housing need, out of which: 50 000 – 55 000 were living in (1) Data from Ministry of Regional Development, based on rented dwellings with the costs of living exceeding 65 % of 2011 Census their income, and 30 000 were homeless people, among others. In 2012 the share of household income spent on housing 55,9 was: 25,1 % in rented dwellings, 17,9 % in cooperative OWNER OCCUPIED dwellings, 17,3 % in personal ownership dwellings and 14,7 % in own house. In 2013 POLICY DEVELOPMENTS there were State support for housing has been decreasing since Key Data: 2005 with the share of 0,13 % of GDP in 2013. According 100 000 - 120 000 to HPI, the prices of real estate in 2013 dropped by 1,5 % Total number of dwellings (thousands): 4 756,57 compared to 2010. Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 469 The “Housing Policy Concept for the Czech Republic till households 2020” was approved by the government in 2011. This new Housing completions in 2012: 25 246 housing concept continues to rely on the State Housing in housing need Development Fund as a very important tool of the state housing policy. The Concept reacts to projections of demographic development indicating that the number of lone senior citizens will be growing. Senior citizens sometimes spend more than 60 % of their income on • No general housing deficit housing. Current priorities for housing policy in Czech Republic are: • Housing Policy Concept for Czech Republic may act preventively • A better-balanced rate of support of own housing and towards demographic developments in the country rental housing and support for groups of people threatened by social exclusion • A legislative regulatory framework for social housing is currently • Extending the offer of dwellings corresponding to the being established needs of the handicapped • Reducing energy demands of housing • State aid for victims of natural disasters in terms of housing • Many households in housing need • Improved use of EU funds in 2014-2020 • Earnings from the sale of emission credits used to support • State support to housing has been decreasing since 2005 housing • Reducing the investment debt through programs supporting re-development and modernization of multi- dwelling buildings • Improving the quality of external environment of residential areas by starting up programs to support the regeneration of In 2014, the Czech Republic received recommendations from the European Comission on reforming its housing residential areas, including the support of crime prevention. market: Shift taxation to areas less detrimental to growth, such as recurrent taxes on housing.

42 housing. In early 2014 an energy renovation program was launched under the name of “Better Housing – Better DENMARK Savings”. The main goal of this program is to make it easier for homeowners to get qualified advice regarding to energy saving issues. In the same year, the government published its energy renovation strategy. The expectations are that the energy renovation strategy will lead to a 35% reduction TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS in the energy consumption for heating and warm water by 49 2050. According to the Statistical Office of Denmark, in 2013 there A new strategy for the building sector was also introduced PRIVATE RENT were 2 762 444 dwellings in the country, out of which 2 597 in 2014, aiming at increasing growth, productivity and 968 were occupied dwellings. According to the Statistical employment in the building sector and addressing some of Yearbook 2014, approximately 51 % are owner-occupied the structural challenges in construction industry. dwellings and 49 % are rented (1). In the years before the financial crisis property prices in References: Demark registered large increases until 2008, followed by (1) Statistics Denmark, Statistical Yearbook 2014 a downturn. Nominal house prices registered the strongest (2) EMF Hypostat 2013, www.hypo.org year on year decrease in 2009 (-12.9%), slightly increased (3) IMF Multi-country Report Housing Recoveries: cluster in 2010 and then fell again in 2011 and 2012 by 2.8% and report on Denmark, Ireland, kingdom of the Netherlands - 3.2% respectively (2). The price decrease concerned mainly the Netherlands, and Spain. https://www.imf.org/external/ single family houses and holiday cottages. Most recently 51 pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=42577.0 house prices have stabilized and are beginning to (4) European Commission, Alert Mechanism Report 2015 OWNER OCCUPIED rise (3). Transaction activity increased slightly in 2012, but http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/2015/amr2015_en.pdf remains low in a historic context, and so does construction (5) author’s estimates, based on data on dwellings, from activity (2). Construction costs in Denmark are the Statistics Denmark http://www.dst.dk/en/Statistik/emner/ second highest in the EU after Sweden. boligforhold/boliger.aspx Denmark has the second highest level of mortgage (6) H. Vestergaard, K. Scanlon (2014) Social Housing in debt in the EU after the Netherlands (with the outstanding Denmark, in Scanlnon, Whitehead and Fernandez Arrigoitia, residential Loans to GDP ratio at 100.8%, and outstanding Social Housing in Europe. Available at http://eu.wiley.com/ residential debt to disposable income of households ratio WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118412346.html at 205.7%) (2). Nevertheless, household debt is matched by a high level of assets, such as real estate and very high Key Data: pension savings, and arrears on mortgage payments are relatively low (4). Total number of dwellings (thousands): 2 762 ...the Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 491 POLICY DEVELOPMENTS Total housing completions in 2012: 13 851

Based on a number of sources, we can estimate that expectations social housing, rented by not-for-profit housing Social housing in Denmark: associations, represents roughly 20% of the total are that Total number of social rental dwellings: housing stock (5). Tenants both in private and social rented 553 600 housing are entitled to housing allowances, depending the energy Yearly social housing completion in 2012: 1 250 on their income. In 2013, 553 355 tenants received rent Providers: Not-for-profit housing associations subsidies. The problem of concentrations of socially deprived and renovation (Sources: Statistics Denmark, EMF Hypostat, BL) ethnic communities on social housing estates has been on the political agenda over the past two decades and different solutions were implemented. Currently social strategy • Low share of people with arrears on mortgage/rent payment, housing associations have been increasingly active and relatively low level of outstanding mortgage debt compared promoting initiatives aimed at local community regeneration will lead such as among others establishing schools, running local to GDP as well as to household income employment initiatives, implementing crime prevention to a 35% • Low share of population with arrears on mortgage/rent or utility bills measures, etc. (6). Another recent debate concerns the use of the National • Highest share of young people living independently and leaving Building Fund. Set up in 1967, the fund collects part of the reduction the parental home earlier than in the rest of the EU surplus generated by rents in the social housing sector once the construction loans are paid off. The Fund’s level of in the energy investments as well as the concrete focus areas that can be • Very high construction costs supported within social development plans are laid down in political agreements made every 4 years by the Danish consumption • High level of mortgage debt Parliament. Its resources have been used for renovation and • Average housing costs compared to disposable income and the rate repairs of existing social housing, but its income is set to by 2050 grow in the coming years and the government and housing of housing overburden are the second highest in the EU associations are discussing the best balance in the use of the fund between renovation and new construction (6). In 2014, Denmark received recommendations from the European Commission ‘to increase efforts to remove Recently there has been in general a strong policy shifts barriers to entry and reduce regulatory burden with a view to increasing competition in the domestic services sector, in towards the environmental and energy efficiency of particular in retail and construction’.

44 requirements for public buildings in January 2013, bringing legislation into line with the EU Energy Efficiency Directive, ESTONIA and extended the support scheme for renovations of apartments in August 2013. Energy efficiency in buildings is being addressed via financing from EU Structural Funds 9 and KredEx fund (3). OTHER TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS References: (1) National Report on Estonia, TEN LAW The Estonian housing market is characterized by a http://www.tenlaw.uni-bremen.de/ high rate of owner-occupancy (82% of non-vacant (2) European Commission (2014) conventional dwellings). The remainder is divided between Country-Specific Recommendations to Estonia public (1,7%) and private (15%) rental. Comparing data from http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/making-it-happen/ the 2011 Census with those of 2000, the share of home 1,7 country-specific-recommendations/2014/index_en.htm ownership has significantly increased over the past decade (3) http://www.kredex.ee/en/ SOCIAL RENT while the overall share of rental housing has decreased. (4) EU SILC http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/income-and- Furthermore, while in 2000 there were still 5% of dwellings living-conditions/data/database under cooperative ownership, by 2011 there were no longer any cooperatives in existence (1). In multi-family buildings, currently one building is forming an apartment owners association, which is in charge of administering the building. It is estimated that about 60% of the population 7,3 in the country is part of such associations. There is limited provision of rental social housing by municipalities, Some 70% PRIVATE RENT targeted at disabled people and low-income households. Tallinn is the only municipality which offers public housing of Estonian also to young families and key municipal workers. There is no formal shortage of housing as the total share of dwellings (on the contrary, 14% of the housing stock is dwellings officially unoccupied). However,oversupply of dwellings is concentrated in rural areas, while the housing market are located 82 in the two largest cities, Tallinn and Tartu, is subject to great demand pressure. Other types of mismatches OWNER OCCUPIED are related to the size of dwellings compared to size of in low-energy households. In particular, young families frequently have difficulties starting their individual housing efficiency career, and families with many children are constrained in tight housing conditions, whereas elderly households often are in a situation of under-occupancy in detached houses apartment or large apartments (1). As pointed out by the European Commission (2), Estonia's blocks resource intensity continues to be very high and efforts Key Data: need to be sustained and increased to achieve better Total number of dwellings (thousands): 649,7 energy efficiency in the residential sector. Some 70% of Estonian dwellings are located in low-energy-efficiency Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 1 082 apartment blocks constructed between 1960s and 1980s, Total housing completions in 2011: 1 918 with problems in terms of too high energy consumption and low quality. Average energy consumption per square meter is higher in the residential buildings of Estonia than in other EU member states (1). The fact that there’s a growing problem with affordability of housing costs (including cost of utilities) is reflected in the number of applications for public assistance with housing expenses that were granted since the start of the crisis rose more than 3 fold: from 26 657 in 2007 to 96 858 in 2011 (1). • Widespread apartment owners associations in multi-family blocks, POLICY DEVELOPMENTS which helps better manage buildings and renovation

Current housing policy supports mainly home ownership, with limited interference with the rental market • Very high energy consumption in residential buildings only to target social housing for low-income people. There • Percentage of the population with arrears on utility payments higher are three basic financial instruments used by the state in the field of housing: deduction of housing loan interest from than EU average with 10.9 (4) taxable income, state guarantees on housing loans, and the • Quality of dwellings lower than EU average in terms of basic amenities: subsistence benefit which can be accessed both by home 9.2% have neither a bath nor a shower, 8.1% no indoor flushing toilet (4) owners and tenants (1). The Estonian government tightened energy efficiency • Very limited provision of social housing

46 2012 they amounted to 8.5% of the total of social transfers for the year; and benefitted 160,000 households. FINLAND Furthermore, Finland has introduced a series of reforms within the framework of the national strategy to end long- term homelessness which havs proven to be particularly 3 successful. Based on the ‘housing first’ model, places in OTHER shelters and hostels were reduced and, with substantial TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS investment, new apartments with rental contracts and social support for the formerly homeless clients were built. According to Statistics Finland, at the end of 2013, there The number of long-term and recurrently homeless people were 2 906 000 dwellings in the country of Finland, of with high support needs fell very significantly between 2009 which 306 000 were without permanent occupation. At the and 2013. However, the number of homeless people sharing same time 44 % of all dwellings were in block of flats. About with friends and relatives, particularly younger people, has 67% of occupied dwellings are owner-occupied, and 30% 14 actually increased. (6) rented (about half private rental and half state-subsidized Currently, Finland is dealing with two major demographic SOCIAL RENT social housing). Other types of tenures include 1.4% right trends– ageing of the population and a high immigration of occupancy, whereby the buyer purchases an up-front rate. To tackle these issues, the Finnish government has payment corresponding to 15% of the value of the dwelling adopted the strategic document “Socially Sustainable and pays a monthly charge. This type of tenure receives Finland 2020: Strategy for social and health policy”. Among state subsidies and there are permanent restrictions on the other measures, it plans to build a well-being network for use of the dwelling and sale price. There is also a form of ageing population, decreasing housing costs down to a partial ownership with an option to buy (1). level manageable by benefit recipients by developing the 16 The demand for rental housing has been growing housing support system, and building sustainable and significantly over the past two decades (2). In 2013, a total of community friendly housing (1). PRIVATE RENT 32 000 dwellings were completed, out of which 43% were dwellings for rent in blocks of flats (3). References: Property prices in Finland have been increasing for almost (1) T. Ralli, National Report on Finland, TENLAW two decades, with nominal house prices increasing by http://www.tenlaw.uni-bremen.de/reports.html 150% since their 1993 trough, and leading to a cumulative (2) IUT A growing importance of rental housing, in Global inflation-adjusted growth of 84 % over the same period, Tenant, December 2013 http://www.iut.nu/FindOutMore/ a significant increase although less than in other Nordic Europe/Rental%20housing%20Finland%20GT_Dec_2013. 67 countries. Unlike most other EU countries, there has pdf been no significant reduction in house prices in the recent (3) Official Statistics of Finland (OSF), Dwellings and OWNER OCCUPIED years except for a modest drop in 2008-9. This has led to housing conditions http://tilastokeskus.fi/til/asas/2013/01/ decreasing affordability and rising price-to-rental ratios. asas_2013_01_2014-10-16_kat_001_en.html Furthermore, increasing property prices were reflected on (4) H. Marrez, Pontuch, P., Finland´s high house prices and the increase in household debt, starting at relatively low household debt: a source of concern?, ECFIN Country levels and currently at the euro-area level (4). Nevertheless Focus http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/ Key Data: the ratio of outstanding residential loans compared to GDP country_focus/2013/pdf/cf_vol10_issue6_en.pdf and compared to disposable income of households remain (5) EMF Hypostat, www.hypo.org Total number of dwellings (thousands): 2 906 relatively low compared to the EU average (5). (6) European Observatory on Homelessness (2014), Extent Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 534 Over the past twenty years of upward trending house and Profile of Homelessness in European Member States: A prices, supply seems to have been lagging behind housing Statistical Update http://www.feantsaresearch.org/ Housing completions in 2013: 32 000 demand. Restricted availability of building land significantly (7) C. André, C. Garcia (2012), Housing price and contributed to limiting housing supply, especially in areas investment dynamics in Finland OECD Economics experiencing strong population growth such as the Helsinki Department Working Paper http://www.oecd.org/ Social housing in Finland: metropolitan area (4). A serious lack of affordable housing officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=ECO/ Total number of social rental dwellings: 11 780 in Helsinki has made it more difficult for young people and WKP%282012%2939&docLanguage=En immigrants to find access to permanent housing there (6). Yearly social housing completion: nav Construction cost in the residential sector is also high in Providers: municipalities, municipal housign companies, Finland, possibly contributing to low level of housing supply. to a lesser extent Limited-profit housing organizations POLICY DEVELOPMENTS and housing trusts (Source: Statistics Finland) Social housing in Finland consists of dwellings financed through subsidized loans by the Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland (ARA), and rented to tenants selected on the basis of social and financial needs. Rent is determined on the cost coverage principle for the duration of the loan, then rents become in principle deregulated. • Lowest rate of severe housing deprivation in the EU The main providers of social housing are municipalities • Relatively low share of population overburdened by housing costs and municipal housing companies. Limited-profit housing organizations and housing trusts also play a role in social • Decrease in long-term homelessness housing provision. The sector is relatively large and is characterized by a high level of social mix (7). • Among the countries with highest construction prices in the EU Housing allowances are also available helping beneficiaries to pay for rent, maintenance, heating and water supply. In • Lack of affordable housing supply in the Helsinki metropolitan area

48 • strengthen the mobilization of land, FRANCE • renovate housing. SOCIAL HOUSING 3 POLICY DEVELOPMENTS OTHER TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS The state has given strong signals and showed that the production of social housing was a priority : The housing situation in France is serious. The needs are • 5.5% reduction in VAT for the construction and renovation considerable, while a political consensus to build more of social housing. A point of VAT under a saving of € 1,200 homes still exists (objective of 500,000 homes a year), per dwelling. The goal is to build 22,500 additional social while production of housing contributes significantly to homes per year. employment, growth and tax revenues, not enough homes 17,4 • Raising the ceiling of the saving account “Livret A” wich are built to satisfy social needs and to respond to the finance social housing (+ 50% in 2012), which aims to meet PUBLIC RENT increasing numbers of households. Year after year, the social housing construction projects financing needs: indicators deteriorate with a decline of 133 000 homes funds Livret A partially centralized by Caisse des Dépôts between 2007 and 2014, the symbol of a decline in the et Consignations which distributes form subsidized loans housing production. to social Landlords. Deposits that remain in the balance The housing crisis is the result of this shortage of supply, sheets of banks must finance SMEs and home renovation. a shortage that keeps prices high for households, while This increase in resources has enabled the Caisse des housing exclusion and homelessness are growing. But Dépôts et Consignations to increase its loans to the social 21,9 there is also 0.4 point less growth in 2014, more than housing sector by 10% in 2013. 100,000 jobs lost since 2007, and billions of euros missing In 2013, 117 000 social housing units were funded, an PRIVATE RENT out the fiscal revenue for the central government and for increase of 14% compared to 2012. 72% of these homes local authorities. were dedicated to households whose income is the lowest form of social housing. On top of this is the creation of more than 7,600 places in suitable housing for people in serious A WIDE INVOLVEMENT financial and social difficulties. OF HOUSING MARKET PLAYERS This effort must be amplified to address social emergency applicants (1.7 million of our fellow citizens are waiting for 57,7 All stakeholders are still convinced that the only way out social housing, including nearly 500,000 only in the region of this crisis is through massive construction of affordable of Ile-de-France). It will be accomplished in a context where OWNER OCCUPIED housing, where the needs are. But complex local many new municipal teams are sometimes reluctant to governance of housing policies, a lack of available and continue or even block, social housing programs of the affordable lands and a centralised national housing policy previous majority. failed to achieve this common goal, despite the involvement Key Data: of social landlords to build 100.000 social homes a year. CREATE A NEW OFFER Housing needs are more and more local-based and Total number of dwellings (thousands): 28 077 diversified, and call for more flexibility of regulation and OF SOCIAL HOUSING Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 423 housing subsidies. Even Employers´ representatives are engaged in this process by adopting recently a white paper For some households, social housing is too expensive. So Housing completions in 2014: 266 500 on housing policy. it responds to a demand for more and more of low income housing. Support by the state of adapted housing production POLICY DEVELOPMENTS program (social residences, boarding houses) to the poorest households. The pact signed on the Social Union • Resilience of Housing policy to the crisis based on a wide This situation of local-based shortage of affordable housing for Housing (USH) and the State July 8, 2013, is aimed at diversity of actors and contributions to housing subsidies (State, and this inability to achieve quantitative goals both in the establishment of 10,000 social housing in three years. private and social housing sectors, leads governments to A call for proposals was launched to this effect on March Regions, Départements, Cities, employers contributions…) adopt reforms with the aim to regulate the private rented 30, 2014 in the public housing sector, the first projects will • A strong Social Housing sector highly regulated by the State market, to promote private investments in housing, to be selected during the summer 2015. In addition to this, make available public lands for social landlords, to promote 1,000 new boarding places, to people with low level of and directly financed by a public bank and savings of households mixed buildings in the social and private sectors and by resources, in isolation or heavy exclusion and whose social with the capacity to build 100.000 new social houses a year setting yearly quantitative objectives of buildings for social and psychological, psychiatric or makes it impossible in the Landlords. To meet this challenge, the current Government foreseeable future their access to ordinary housing, should is implementing a recovery plan to create the conditions for be created in 2014. • Complex governance of local housing and land policies to be reformed trust and to carry out this “construction battle”. Financing of 15,000 homes for very low rents (20% lower Housing is part of the expenditure priorities in the French than the rents in social housing) for households with very • Lack of adaptability of the national housing policy and regulation budget. Over the years, its value has become excessive and low incomes by pooling the resources of social housing for to the increasing diversity of local-based housing needs sometimes unbearable for many of the French citizens. 100 million euros a year for 3 years is crucial. The government's plan includes significant measures. As it is also promoting access to ordinary household • Increasing of Homelessness and housing exclusions though an existing It also calls for mobilizing all public and private actors. It housing with special difficulties by 10,000 supported right to housing revolves around five priorities: housing program funded by the state. • encourage home ownership • Lack of adequate supply of social and affordable housing in attractive • simplify the rules for construction and develop innovation Regions • increase the supply of new housing, social and intermediaries • Negative impact of housing market failures on jobs and mobility of workers

50 GERMANY POLICY DEVELOPMENTS The federal government is promoting energy renovation measures in existing buildings as well as 4,2 energy standards regarding newly constructed buildings (3). Nevertheless, responsibility for social housing SOCIAL RENT policies lies at the level of the federal states, and TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS strategies implemented at the regional and local level differ significantly across Germany (4). Overall the social housing Germany has a long tradition of a well-developed rental stock is decreasing, from 2 570 600 in 2002 to 1 538 700 in housing sector, and it is the only country in the EU with 2012 (2). In recent years there has been a policy shift towards a rental sector larger than the owner-occupied. supporting people directly through housing benefits, with The importance of the rental housing market in Germany the availability of housing allowances and payment for has historical reasons: after the Second World War, the housing and heating cost for social benefits recipients lack of dwellings was one of the most pressing problems (5). In 2013 the government provided housing allowances confronting Germany with a shortage of some 4.5 million or the housing and heating costs payment to 4.8 million homes, which led to the creation of social housing as a households, spending € 17 billion for housing costs. About response to this problem. Furthermore, the rental housing 50,4 12 % of households in the country are recipients of housing market and home ownership have developed side by side assistance. RENT AT MARKET on an equal footing. The German rental sector is characterized by regulation of A significant exception compared to the rest of Europe, rent increases, coupled with high security of tenure (6). Due PRICE house prices in Germany have not registered a drop to recent steep rent increases in big cities and metropolitan following the financial crisis. Overall house prices were areas, rent increase has become a major political topic relatively stable in Germany over the last 25 years, and new which led to a further reinforcement of rent regulation. housing output and household growth were in equilibrium Since 2013 in case of rent increase in existing contracts the up to the early 2000s. Since 2010 housing prices in federal states have the possibility to specify municipalities Germany turned to a clear upward trend. According to and regions of high demand for rented dwellings where the expert calculations, housing prices in German cities rose three-year rent increase cap of 20 % is lowered to 15 %. By by an average of 5.25 % in 2014, after having increased by the end of 2014 nine out of 16 federal states have passed 7.25 % in 2013 (1). This was particularly true for apartments regulations which specify regional areas for the lowered 45,4 in urban real estate markets. The German Bundesbank rent cap. Furthermore, from mid-2015 based on recent considers there is no overall over-valuation of residential legislation some cities and regions in Germany will OWNER OCCUPIED property, but in major cities prices for apartments are over- probably start to use a so called ‘rental price brake’ valuated by 10-20% (1). for new contracts, i.e. for a period of five years rents in Current housing market trends show considerable regional new contracts are not allowed to go up by more than 10 % disparities. In some areas the markets are quite tense, Key Data: in comparison to the reference rent for similar dwelling with while in others a significant share of the housing stock is Total number of dwellings (thousands): 40 545.3 the same size and location. There are general exceptions for vacant. More specifically, there isstrong demand-side new built dwellings and dwellings which were fundamentally Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 506 pressure in metropolitan areas, and on the contrary modernized to improve their energy efficiency. population is decreasing in other areas resulting in Housing completions in 2013: 215 000 costly structural vacancy in the housing stock (2). Once An ‘Alliance for affordable housing’ bringing together concentrated in the states of former East Germany the a wide range of stakeholders was recently set up by the demographic shift towards shrinking markets has minister for environment to discuss ways to encourage Social housing in Germany: already reached regions in the former West Germany. investment in the construction of new affordable housing. Total number of social rental dwellings in 2012: 1 539 000 On the contrary, large towns and cities and metropolitan areas over the last five years showed a relatively strong References: Yearly social rental housing completion in 2012: 22 634 increase in numbers of inhabitants and households, due to (1) Deutsche Bundesbank (2015):Monthly Report, February Providers: all market player - municipal or private housing net immigration as well as inner migration of the younger 2015 companies, cooperatives or private investors - can access population. For a few years rents in new contracts in big (2) GdW (2014), Wohnungswirtschaftliche Daten und Trends cities like Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, 2014/2015, p 27 credit/subsidies to provide social housing Stuttgart and Düsseldorf are rising disproportionately. The (3) J. Cornelius, J. Rzeznik, National Report for Germany, (Sources: 2011 Population and Housing Census, Destatis, same trend also occurred in university towns and smaller TENLAW http://www.tenlaw.uni-bremen.de/ cities like Münster, Regensburg, Göttingen and Trier as well (4) For further information on the German social housing Fachkommission Wohnungsbauförderung/SuBVE Bremen, as in Jena. model, see our report ‘Housing Europe Review 2012’ at Bundesbaublatt 6-2014) In the last decade housing construction has not kept http://www.housingeurope.eu/resource-105/the-housing- up with population development in in metropolitan europe-review-2012 areas and in university cities. In 2013 around 215 000 new (5) Christian Droste and Thomas Knorr-Siedow (2013) dwellings were built, an increase of 56 000 units compared Social Housing in Germany. In Whitehead and Scanlon, • Large rental housing sector to 2010, yet it still falls short compared to the estimated Social hosuing in Europe • Stable housing market, little impacted by the global financial crisis need for 250 000 new dwellings per year. A big challenge (6) University of Cambridge (2012) The Private Rented for building new affordable housing units in Germany is Sector in the New Century: a comparative approach. • Low level of mortgage indebtedness and no major problem with arrears linked with the increase of construction prices, due on mortgage/rents mainly to higher standards and technical developments in the German fields of energy efficiency, fire safety and • High quality soundproofing. The federation, GdW estimates that average construction costs for new dwellings have raised by 47 % between 2004/2005 and 2012/2013. • High share of housing costs out of disposable income, as well as housing Another key issue for the housing sector today is the ageing population. It is estimated that currently there are only about overburden rate 600 000 dwellings in Germany which are adapted to the needs • Mismatch between demand and supply at the local level of the elderly, while demand for adapted dwellings is expected to grow to 3 million dwellings by 2020 (2). • Rapid increase in rents and prices in some cities and metropolitan areas

52 At present, Public or social housing schemes are GREECE completely absent from the Greek legal framework, and there are no subsidization measures available in the rental sector. Nevertheless, in March 2015 the Greek Parliament voted in 5,1 favor of a bill which includes, among others, the following OTHER measures: first, all households previously cut off from TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS electricity use will be reconnected for free (only for primary/ first homes), andpower up to 300 khw is also provided According to the results of the 2011 Population and for free to households in need (families with young children, Housing Census, the total number of dwellings in Greece long-term unemployed and households who face the threat was 6.384.353. Out of these, 35.5% are vacant - a very of eviction/ overburden by housing costs) until the end of high rate but one that includes many secondary and holiday the year. Secondly, rent subsidies will be provided to up to homes. Out of total occupied dwellings, 73.2% are owner 30.000 households until the end of 2015 with a provisional - occupied, 21.7% are rented, and 5.1% are under other extension in 2016. This allowance ranges from 70 to 220 types of ownership, including cooperative ownership (1). Euros/month and it may be used to compensate debts The Greek housing market has been in recession towards the Greek tax authorities or the social insurance 21,7 since the end of 2008, as medium-term expectations providers. remain negative. It continues to be characterized by overall PRIVATE RENT excessive supply and very low demand (2). The number References: of residential property transactions has been falling (1) ELSTAT 2011 Population and Housing Census significantly, by -33.8% in 2014. There has also been a (2) EMF (2013) Hypostat significant decrease in house prices since 2008, and the (3) Bank of Greece (2015) Summary of key short-term price index is still falling by -7.5 in 2014 compared to the indicators for the real estate market previous year. The price rent index has also been negative (4) EU SILC, data referring to 2012 for the third consecutive year (3). (5) National report on Greece, TEN LAW Despite these trends, there is a clear and increasing (6) European Observatory on Homelessness (2014) Extent problem with housing affordability in the country. and Profile of Homelessness in European Member States Housing costs as a share of disposable income are on 73,2 average very high compared to other European countries OWNER OCCUPIED (37% in 2012) and particularly for the poor: on average households at risk of poverty spend 65% of their disposable income on housing, the highest rate in the EU. According to EU SILC data in 2012 Greece had also the highest share of people overburden by housing costs (33.1%), as well as the Homeless highest rate of arrears both on the payment of their utilities bills (31.8%), as well as on rent or mortgage payments population (12.9%) (4). The percentage of non-performing loans has increased dramatically since the start of the crisis, from 3.6 in 2007 to 28.1 in 2014 (3). A ministerial decision in 2011 in Greece rose prohibited banks from auctioning main residences worth Key Data: less than € 200,000 until 2013. In 2014 additional criteria by 25% between Total number of dwellings (thousands): 6 384 were introduced, forbidding foreclosures for households with an income below €35,000. Therefore despite the high Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 590 share of non-performing loans there is little evidence of 2009 and 2011 Housing completions in 2011: 48 812 housing foreclosures (5). Services providers estimate that the homeless population in Greece rose by 25% between 2009 and 2011 to reach 20,000. Growing unemployment and falling income levels have increased vulnerability to homelessness as more people are unable to meet housing costs, and at the same time austerity measures have had a major impact on service capacity at a time of growing demand (6). Furthermore, although this doesn’t show in homelessness figures, it has become quite common for younger family members whose income has decreased dramatically as a result of • No overall housing shortage the economic crisis to move back with their parents (5). • Housing quality relatively high in terms of basic amenities and living space

POLICY DEVELOPMENTS • No social housing exists in Greece Regarding housing subsidization policies in Greece, the • Homelessness is increasing only competent body in this field was O.E.K. Its activities, regulated by law, consisted mainly of rent subsidization of • 33.1% of the population is ‘overburdened’ by housing costs, the highest low-income families, and providing interest rate subsidies share in the EU on housing loans. However, in 2012 the O.E.K.’s activity • Highest share of people with arrears on rent / mortgage payments (12.9% was terminated by Law as part of the austerity measures imposed on Greece (7). as well as on payment of utilities bills (31.8%) in the EU

54 poor households. From 2010, housing policy focused mainly on the mortgage HUNGARY loan crisis. In 2011 the government launched the Home Protection Programme, introducing measures to “rescue” the FX borrowers. The early FX loan repayment scheme 1 ran from September 2011 until the end of February 2012, and allowed borrowers who took on CHF loans before 2008 COOPERATIVE HOUSING TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS (when CHF traded at around HUF 150-180) to repay their FX mortgages in full at only HUF 180 to the Swiss franc, although According to the 2011 Census, the dwelling stock in the franc in 2011-12 was trading at HUF 235-250. A similar Hungary amounts to approximately 4,4 million dwellings, scheme was applied to EUR and YEN based mortgage out of which 12 % are vacant. The overall tenure structure loans. Then the FX loan rate cap scheme was introduced in Hungary consisted in 2011 of 92 % owner occupied, 4 % in 2012, putting an exchange rate cap on repayments. The private rental, 3 % municipal rental, and 1 % of corporate exchange rate differential of borrowers is accumulated on 3 housing stock. However, according to expert estimates the a separate account. The preferential rate period will last share of the private rental sector indicated in the Census until June 2017 at the latest, but there is some uncertainty SOCIAL RENT might be smaller than the actual one because of un- about what will happen with the accumulated debts on the reporting due to the tax avoidance, and the real size of the special accounts at the end of the programme. Finally, a private rental sector might be around 8% of total stock. The rent-to-own scheme was introduced in 2012, managed majority (69 %) of the rental housing stock is concentrated by the newly established National Asset Management in Budapest and in cities with over 50 000 inhabitants. Company (NAMC). NAMC purchases a limited number Since 1990 most of the municipal housing stock pledged housing properties with non-performing loans, and was privatized into private ownership. The share of offers a renting option to the former debtor; it is planned 4 municipal dwellings decreased from 19 % in 1990 to 3 to purchase 25,000 units by the end of 2014. The NAMC % in 2011. The remaining publicly owned stock is mainly pays 55-35% of the properties’ market value based on PRIVATE RENT concentrated in the cities, while only 1% of the overall the original mortgage contract between the banks and the public housing is located in villages. It is estimated that borrowers. today about 300 thousand households are in need of However, parallel to the government programmes, civil affordable housing. New construction in Hungary slowed movements initiated court cases against the mortgagee down after the Global Financial Crisis, and in 2013 it hit banks. In June 2014, Hungary’s Supreme Court ruled that the record low of 7 293 dwellings built, compared to 36 the practice of exchange rate spreads (using different rate for 075 in 2007. Parallel to this, house prices also decreased, buying and selling FX currencies) was unfair, and the banks with real house prices 25 % lower in 2011 than in 2008, as 92 should have used the HNB official central rate. The Curia well as transactions. The outstanding mortgage according also issued a statement on the valid terms and conditions OWNER OCCUPIED to EMF is 20.7% of GDP, a much lower level than the EU of FX lending. Based on this statement, the government average of 52%. Nevertheless many households has taken quickly passed a new act, according to which banks have out loans extended in / indexed to foreign currencies to retrospectively recalculate the originally used exchange (FX loans represented 70% of the mortgage portfolio) rate spreads and all the unfair interest rate increases that and were faced with huge financial hardship because of the occurred since the original disbursement of the loan. worsening exchange rate, and the increase of the interest Banks will be obliged to fully compensate the borrowers rate. EU SILC estimates that 63.9% of people with an by either refunding the difference, or recalculating the income below 60% of the median national income have remaining loans and decreasing future monthly instalments Key Data: arrears on the payment of rents or mortgages. accordingly. According to preliminary calculations, the Despite significant improvements since the 1990s, Hungary whole programme – once accomplished – would cost the Total number of dwellings (thousands): 4 400 still has huge problems from the point of view of housing banks around HUF 1000 billion (equivalent to 25-30% of the Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 445 quality and comfort, as shown by EU SILC data. Hungary outstanding FX loan portfolio). has the second highest rate of severe housing deprivation Housing completions in 2011: 48 812 in the EU after Romania, 17.2% of the population compared References: to an EU average of 5.2. Furthermore, the European (1) Hegedus, J., Horvath, V., Teller, N., Tosics, N. National Commission stressed in its 2014 recommendations that Report for Hungary households' energy intensity in Hungary is among (2) Koltai, L. (2014) Annual report on housing poverty 2013 the highest in the Union and energy efficiency could be (3) http://goo.gl/pHQLUP improved in the residential sector. (4) Hededüs, J. and Nagy, Gy.: The effect of GFC on tenure choice in a post-socialist country – the case of Hungary, • Low levels of outstanding mortgage compared POLICY DEVELOPMENTS conference paper, 2014 to EU average Housing policy in Hungary tends to favor home ownership. Some recent measures are weakening the protection of low income households: for instance after 2008, as a • 12% of dwellings are vacant consequence of the Global Financial Crisis, the government introduced an austerity program as a part of IMF loan The record low • Lack of social rental housing agreement, which included the suspension of housing • On average low levels of housing quality and comfort subsidies. The share of housing subsidies within the central of 7 293 dwellings budget overall fell from 0,9 % to 0,4 % of GDP between 2007 and 2012. At the same time there is a lack of social rental housing. built in 2013, Recently, in 2013 and 2014 the government implemented significant retailelectricity and gas price cuts, but the European Commission in its 2015 country paper for compared to Hungary points out that these measures do not appear to In 2014, the European Commission recommended Hungary should ‘Take measures to increase energy efficiency in have substantially improved the affordability of housing for 36 075 in 2007 particular in the residential sector’.

56 in November 2014 the government announced the new ‘Social Housing Strategy 2020: Support, Supply and IRELAND Reform’. The 6-year strategy commits to supplying 35,000 additional social housing units at a cost of €3.8 billion over the next 6 years; meeting the housing needs of some 1,5 75,000 households through local authority provision via the private rented sector - using Housing Assistance Payment OTHER and Rental Accommodation Scheme; reforming social TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS housing delivery and management in Ireland, establishing the Dublin Social Housing Delivery Taskforce, to respond The Irish housing boom was particularly dynamic: to the current supply difficulties and focus on the delivery of house price inflation – both real and nominal – was the social housing in the Dublin area (10). highest among OECD countries between the mid-1990s Part of a series of initiatives aimed to address the Irish and 2006, registering a 300% increase in real house prices banking crisis, as well as dealing with the problem of ‘ghost (340% in nominal terms). At the same time, the stock estates’, the National Asset Management Agency 10,3 of housing grew by 150%: economic momentum was was created in 2009. The 'bad bank' acquired 12,000 increasingly sustained by a buoyant construction sector, loans from 5 financial institutions, with 60,000 properties SOCIAL RENT which came to represent 10% of GDP in 2006 compared as security transferred to the agency. As part of its ‘social to just 5% a decade earlier (1). The economic crisis has initiatives’ portfolio NAMA mobilizes properties for social had a profound impact on the Irish housing system. One housing (through lease or purchase by local authorities and of the most readily identifiable effects has been therapid approved housing bodies). By the end of 2014, 1 068 had deflation of the property market. Since 2007 the Irish been delivered for social housing use (11). economy has declined sharply and nationally property Furthermore, a number of measures were introduced in prices fell by 49% from 2007 to 2012. However, today the recent years to deal with the issue of mortgage arrears housing market has bottomed out and prices are now including the mortgage to rent scheme in 2011, and the 18,5 rising again (2), especially in Dublin, as well as rents. Personal Insolvency Act 2012 (5). The Central Bank has Having risen by more than 30% since 2011, rents in Dublin PRIVATE RENT also announced changes to lending rules (12) and there is a are now just 6% off their 2007 peak levels (3). concern that this may impact on the private rented market Another consequence of the recession has been a dramatic by increasing demand and therefore rents. increase in mortgage arrears. The groups most likely Finally, the Irish Government announced in December 2014 to be in greatest debt are first time buyers who bought at a €25 million plan to tackle homelessness. Measures the top of the market (2005-2007) and particularly first time also include the immediate provision of 260 additional buyers living in Dublin. Today 52% of mortgages are still 'underwater', and 16.9% of mortgages are in arrears (4). emergency beds for people sleeping rough in Dublin as The supply of new dwellings has slowed down a response to the ever increasing homelessness, and 69,7 dramatically since the peak, falling from 80,000 units a direction to the four Dublin housing authorities to allocate year in 2006 to just over 10,000 units in 2012 (5). In 2012 a 50% of all housing allocations to homeless households and OWNER OCCUPIED total of 1391 new social dwellings were provided (by local other vulnerable groups for the next 6 months. authorities and housing associations), out of which 215 in Key Data: Dublin (6). Many commentators have started pointing at a References: growing shortage of new dwellings, particularly of social (1) ECFIN Country Focus, Ireland's housing market: bubble Total number of dwellings (thousands): 2 019 and affordable housing, which is contributing to increasing trouble http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/ Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 440 prices and worsening affordability. A recent study (7) publication13187_en.pdf estimates that 80,000 residential units would be required (2) European Commission, Alert Mechanism Report 2015 Total housing completions in 2012: 8 301 http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/2015/amr2015_en.pdf between 2014 and 2018, or 16,000 per year; almost half of Social housing in Ireland: which is required in Dublin and surrounding areas. (3) The Daft.ie (2014) An analysis of recent trends in the Irish Furthermore, social housing waiting lists have been rental market https://c0.dmstatic.com/627/report/q4-2014- Total number of social rental dwellings: 144 000 increasing to about 90,000 households, almost doubling daft-rental-report.pdf since the offset of the crisis, and a number of reports point (4) IMF Multi-country Report (2015), Housing Recoveries: Social housing production in 2012: 1 391 to an alarming increase in homelessness, particularly cluster report on Denmark, Ireland, kingdom of the Providers: Local authorities, voluntary bodies in the capital (8). A Tenancy Protection Service (TPS) Netherlands - the Netherlands, and Spain https://www.imf. since mid-June 2014 has responded to 2,910 calls with org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=42577.0 (Sources: DECLG, CSO Census 2011) 1,303 families being identified as being at imminent risk of (5) National Report for , TEN LAW homelessness. A protocol with the Department of Social http://www.tenlaw.uni-bremen.de/reports.html • Working on new strategy for social housing and to tackle Protection (DSP) enables TPS staff to refer the cases of (6) NESC (2014), Review of Irish Social and Affordable families at risk, to be considered for a rent supplement Housing Provision http://www.nesc.ie/en/publications/ homelessness increase. To date, 277 families have been approved under publications/nesc-secretariat-papers/secretariat-paper-10/ (7) Housing Agency (2014) Housing Supply Requirements the protocol. in Ireland’s Urban Settlements 2014 – 2018 http://www. • Strongest house price boom among OECD countries until 2006, housing.ie/Housing/media/Media/Publications/Future- followed by sharp decline POLICY DEVELOPMENTS Housing-Supply-Requirements-Report.pdf (8) Dublin’s homeless children, The Irish Times http://www. • Phenomenon of ‘Ghost estates’ The main provider of social housing are local authorities, irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/dublin-s-homeless- • Shortage of new affordable housing, and increasing homelessness and there are also around 300 Approved Housing Bodies children-1.2001425 particularly in Dublin (mainly housing associations and cooperatives) in operation (9) NESC (2014), Social Housing at the Crossroads http:// in Ireland (6). Since the start of the crisis Ireland has seen www.nesc.ie/en/publications/publications/nesc-reports/ • High percentage of the population with arrears on rent/mortgage payment successive years of retrenchment in the social housing social-housing-at-the-crossroads-possibilities-for- (9.5%) and on utilities payments (17.6%) budget, with funding falling from over €1.7bn in 2008 to investment-provision-and-cost-rental/ some €597m in 2014 (9). This has led to greater reliance by (10) DECLG (2014), Social Housing Strategy 2020: Support, • High outstanding residential debt to GDP (77.5%), and 52% underwate local authorities on private rented housing to meet social- Supply and Reform www.environ.ie housing needs, with an increase in the number of people (11) NAMA https://www.nama.ie/ mortgages in private rental receiving rent supplement. Furthermore, (12) Central Bank of Ireland (2014) Macro - prudential policy grants up to 100% previously available to approved housing for residential mortgage lending http://www.centralbank.ie/ In 2014, the European Commission recommended Ireland should: ‘Monitor banks' performance against the mortgage bodies were almost entirely replaced with a model based arrears restructuring targets. Announce ambitious targets for the third and fourth quarters of 2014 for the principal mortgage on private borrowing. banks to propose and conclude restructuring solutions for mortgage loans in arrears of more than 90 days, with a view to To re-launch the much needed provision of social housing, substantially resolving mortgage arrears by the end of 2014’.

58

includes 568 million Euros of funding to rehabilitate publicly owned dwellings owned by ex IACP and municipalities, as ITALY well as 100 million for regions to increase the offer of social housing. The plan also establishes right to buy in the public social housing sector, that is a right for sitting tenants to 11 buy the dwelling where they live after 7 years of tenancy. OTHER Revenue from the sale of these dwellings can be used for TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS new construction and rehabilitation of social housing. Among the measures promoted by the Plan are the In Italy home ownership represents 67,2% of the total following: an increase in budget from 100 to 200 million for housing stock, private rental accounts for 16.3%, and social the national fund providing support to tenants in various rental 5.5% the majority of which are dwellings owned by forms like rent support, creation of rental guarantee funds local entities and managed by public companies usually etc., plus 226 million Euros available over 6 years, until referred to as ‘ex-IACP’. Since 2010 home ownership has 5,5 2020, in a fund dedicated to helping the most vulnerable been slightly decreasing, while there has been a small tenants who cannot cope with rent payment. To encourage SOCIAL RENT increase in renting over the same period. landlords to provide rents at moderate rents, the plan also From 2008 up to now the economic crisis has caused includes a further reduction in the reduced tax rate, from 15 a collapse in the housing market and impacted the to 10%, for those applying moderate rents in municipalities income of a large percentage of population, while at with very high housing demand and those hit by natural the same time banks have tightened their lending practices. disasters. Consequently, the number of housing sale transactions has decreased (-30%), and rents and sale prices have also fallen References 16,3 (-15%). However, till the present day they have remained (1) ISTAT, http://dati-censimentopopolazione.istat.it/ above pre-crisis levels and still remain too high for several (2) R. Bianchi, National Report for Italy, TENLAW PRIVATE RENT thousands of families. http://www.tenlaw.uni-bremen.de/ Housing cooperatives historically play an important (3) Censis, ‘Atlante della domanda immobiliare. Sintesi dei role in a number of Italian regions mainly in the provision risultati http://www.censis.it/14?shadow_ricerca=118547 of access to home ownership at cost price. Despite being (4) Federcasa, www.federcasa.it more affordable than market prices- on average 10 to 30%- (5) EU SILC, 2013 this sector has also been severely hit by the crisis. (6) Piano casa: il provvedimento definitivo - Il Governo The increasing problem with housing affordability in Italy Informa : Dossier http://goo.gl/XMA3Sa 67,2 can be seen in the number of evictions (a 14.7% increase between 2008 and 2011). Furthermore, the number of OWNER OCCUPIED housing repossessions due to mortgage default increased, despite the fact that such solutions are not regarded favorably by banks and financial institutions and tend to be 66% Key Data: used as a last resort. Total number of dwellings (thousands): 28 863 The situation today sees an increase in housing demand from medium and low-income households unable to of the population Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 485 find affordable dwellings, with an estimate 2.5 million Total number of public rental dwellings: 963 000 households who - for different reasons - are considered in housing need. About 650 000 families have applied for between 18 and public housing but have not received it mainly because there Social housing in Italy: are not enough homes available: the average production of 34 years old new social housing since 2000 has been held steady at 6 Total number of public rental dwellings: 963 000 000 dwellings per year, and the neighborhoods and the Yearly social housing completion in 2012: 4 600 buildings managed are old and lack repair works. Italy is living also one of the countries in the EU with the highest share of Providers: the main providers of social housing young people living at home with their parents, almost 66% with parents are public housing companies and municipalities. of the population between 18 and 34 years old. Nevertheless, one should keep in mind the huge Data above refer to the public stock only. differences at the regional and local level: the Housing cooperatives and most recently foundations most problematic areas are the biggest cities and their surroundings, where about 35% of the Italian population is are also involved in social/intermediate rental housing concentrated. provision (Sources: ISTAT, Federcasa) POLICY DEVELOPMENTS • New Housing Plan (2014) that supports public Since the beginning of the crisis, public effort initially focused on helping households with difficulties paying their and social housing mortgage and those with rent arears, with the creation of specific solidarity funds, and establishing a guarantee • Increasing problem with housing affordability fund for first-time buyers, including a specific focus on young couples. • 2.5 million households in housing need for several reasons A new Housing Plan was put into force in May 2014, with • 66% of the population between 18 and 34 years old living with parents a budget of 1 billion 740 million Euros, that includes also measures to support social and public housing. The plan • Big cities and their surroundings particularly problematic

62 month) for large families on low incomes. The government has phased out mortgage-interest LATVIA deductibility, and it’s currently working on proposals to protect the consumers who have taken mortgage loans for their only home. 28,6 OTHER References: TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS (1) National report for Latvia, TEN LAW http://www.tenlaw.uni-bremen.de/reports.html In terms of housing tenures in Latvia, data from the last (3) The Central statistical bureau of Latvia, 2 September Population and housing Census (2011) show 58.8% of 2013 http://www.csb.gov.lv dwellings are owner-occupied, 12.6% are rented, and (2) ECFIN Country focus (2012) Real estate price dynamics, 27.5% are under ‘other types of ownership’. No distinction housing finance and related macro-prudential tools in the is made in the Census between private and social rental Baltics, http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/ housing, but according to 2012 data social housing country_focus/2012/cf-vol9_2_en.htm amounts to only about 0.4% of the total housing stock (1) (4) European Commission Staff working document, in the country, and it is provided by municipalities to people Country Report Latvia 2015 12,6 on low income. Priority is given for instance to persons who http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/csr2015/cr2015_ PRIVATE RENT have reached retirement age or who are disabled; those latvia_en.pdf who have dependent children; people who have been evicted; orphans and people leaving institutionalized care; victims of natural disasters. Like the other Baltic countries, Latvia experienced a strong increase of house prices up to 2007 with a correction starting thereafter. Yet, it appears that the adjustment is now fading out. House prices increases have started to ...a relatively exceed growth rates of house rents and disposable income (2). high rate Approximately 19% of all households today are 58,8 estimated to be ‘in need’, whereby it’s meant they are OWNER OCCUPIED in circumstances denying households’ access to adequate of housing housing (3). Other issues include a relatively high rate of housing deprivation and poor housing quality deprivation compared to other EU countries (1) as well as poor energy performance of buildings, where only around 2% of the residential multi-apartment buildings have been heat- and poor housing insulated (4). quality... POLICY DEVELOPMENTS Key Data:

Besides municipal housing mentioned above, public Total number of dwellings (thousands): 1 018 support to housing also includes: allowances covering Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 499 rent payment and payment for utilities; allocation of a one-time subsidy for renovation of a residential Housing completions in 2012: 2 087 dwelling; and assistance with the purchase, renovation (Sources: 2011 Census; TEN LAW) and restoration of residential housing for certain categories of the population (tenants of denationalized houses, families with children and inhabitants of multi- apartment buildings). In 2011 a new bill on Rental Apartments was discussed, with an aim to promote access to housing, balancing the tenant and the lessor's rights and obligations in determining rents levels, specifying where the lease agreement may be terminated, and to facilitate resolution of disputes. An • Shortage of social housing issue which has not been solved yet is that of tenants in restituted or de-nationalized dwellings, who unlike • Poor housing quality and high level of housing deprivation tenants of formerly state-owned dwellings were not able to compared to EU average buy properties at a low price. In this segment of the rental sector a rent ceiling applies. In July 2014 the Parliament adopted legislative changes regarding housing benefits which can now also cover property management fees. Furthermore, the conditions related to access to housing for orphans' or children without parental care were improved. Finally, in order to protect the households from the increased costs of energy after liberalization of the energy market, the government has In 2014, Latvia received recommendations from the European Commission to ‘Pursue efforts to further increase foreseen the introduction of electricity benefit (5 EUR per energy efficiency in transport, buildings and heating systems’.

64 has been drafting a Programme for the Development of Subsidised Housing Stock 2014–2020, including funding LITHUANIA from the European Regional Development Fund. Measures include the acquisition and equipment of 1150 units of social housing, starting in 2016 (6). Lithuania has also made some progress on the energy efficiency of buildings, with the introduction of a new TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS financing scheme in 2013. Nevertheless, the challenge 11,4 of improved energy efficiency in buildings still remains, According to the most recent data available, the housing given that according to the European Commission 96% of PRIVATE RENT market in Lithuania includes 88.6% home ownership (a multifamily buildings in Lithuania were built before 1993 and very high level compared to other EU countries), and 11.4% most of them still have a very poor level of energy efficiency rental housing. Officiallythe rental housing market is (7). small, however the correct share of tenants is most likely underestimated due to the existence of a black market. References: Rental housing is concentrated in the biggest cities of (1) J. Kolomijceva (2014) National Report for Latvia, TENLAW Lithuania (Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipeda) (1). Currently there is a http://www.tenlaw.uni-bremen.de/reports.html shortage of rental housing in the country, especially for low- (2) 2011 Census, Official Statistics Portal, income families and in particular young households who http://osp.stat.gov.lt/en/temines-lenteles cannot afford to purchase or rent housing on the market. (3) Ministry of the Environment (2012), Furthermore, the social housing sector, which consists 88,6 http://www.am.lt/VI/article.php3?article_id=11543 mainly of municipally owned dwellings, is very small. (4) European Commission (2014) Alert Mechanism Report OWNER OCCUPIED The exact size of the municipal housing sector is not known: 2015 http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/2015/amr2015_ 2011 Census reported that 18 926 dwellings are owned by en.pdf the state or municipalities (2), that is about 1.6% of the total (5) ECFIN Country Focus (2012) Real estate price dynamics, stock of permanently occupied dwellings, but the recent housing finance and related macro-prudential tools in the report on Lithuania from the Ten LAW project estimates the Baltics http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/ size of the sector at about 3% of the total (1). In recent years country_focus/2012/cf-vol9_2_en.htm the development of social housing has been slowing down (6) Social Protection Committee (2014). as a result of reduced public and municipal investments. Review of recent social policy reforms for a fair and At the same time, demand for social housing increased competitive Europe http://ec.europa.eu/social/main. by about 3.6 times from 2004 to 2011, with 30 484 people jsp?catId=738&langId=en&pubId=7737&visible=1 Key Data: in need in 2011 (concentrated in 14 municipalities defined (7) European Commission, Country Report Lithuania as ‘problematic’ in terms of housing demand). According 2015 http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/making-it-happen/ Total number of dwellings (thousands): 1 389 to the Housing Strategy of Lithuania, it is expected that country-specific-recommendations/index_en.htm Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 456 the social housing sector will increase by 4-5 percent by the year 2020, requiring an extra 25-30 thousand new Total housing completions in 2011: 5 066 apartments (3). After the economic crisis at the end of 2007 the real property market started showing signs of stagnation: the Social housing in Lithuania: housing price growth subsided and the number of real In 2012, Total number of social rental dwellings: nav property transactions decreased. In 2011 housing market Yearly social housing completion in 2013: 257 regained stability, and real house prices seem to have stabilised (4). Nevertheless, unlike in the other two Baltic the state began Providers: municipalities States, growth rates of credit for housing have not (Sources: 2011 Census, Official Statistics Portal; recovered, partly due to the introduction of supervisory restrictions including a cap on the loan to value and debt to subsidize EMF Hypostat; SPC) to income ratio in 2011 (5), as well as declining incomes (1). lower-income POLICY DEVELOPMENTS people's first • Measures adopted to avoid mortgage over-indebtedness While requirements to access mortgage credit were made • New measures to support energy efficiency, increasing rate of renovation stricter in 2011, in 2012 the state began to subsidize home purchase lower-income people's first home purchase through state-sponsored housing credits (1). • Shortage of affordable rental housing and little social housing availability At the same time measures were prepared to support • Still poor energy performance of a large share of the housing stock low income tenants: the government recently drafted the Law on Support for the Acquisition or Rental of Housing, • High share of the population unable to keep home adequately warm which foresees that families and individuals entitled to (29.2 in 2013 compared to 10.8 EU average) social housing and renting housing from natural or legal persons under market conditions become entitled to • High share of homes lacking basic amenities, 9.1% of the populaiton a compensation of part of rental or lease payments. in severe housing deprivation (compared to 5.2 EU average) Furthermore, in 2013 LTL 18.7 million (LTL 5.4 million more than in 2012) were invested from the state budget of the Republic of Lithuania in the development of social housing stock. These funds were used to provide 257 additional In 2014, the European Commission in its Country Specific Recommendations encouraged Lithuania to: Step up units. Finally, the Ministry of Social Security and Labour measures to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, through a rapid implementation of the holding fund.

66 imposition on property developers to include at least of 10% LUXEMBOURG social housing in new developments (2). To increase housing supply, the government has recently simplified land planning procedures, and has approved financial measures to foster construction by 2,7 privates, public promoters and municipalities. The State TENANT RENT-FREE has also been trying to meet the need of housing through TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS taxation benefits, particularly for those who are willing to sell land for construction or apartment blocks. Furthermore, In Luxembourg 69% of households are home owners, and a municipal tax was introduced which applies to dwellings 28.3% are tenants, and 2.7% are occupying a dwelling rent- that have been vacant for more than 18 months and to land free (1). Compared to other EU countries, the share of single for construction where no construction has been made for family homes is very high in Luxembourg, especially in the at least three years. owner-occupied stock. The rental market registered a significant increase following the crisis, and it is References: concentrated in the capital. Although Luxembourg's rental (1) STATEC, Population Census 2011 market is said to be ‘strongly pro-tenant’ (2), investors http://www.statistiques.public.lu 28,3 consider investment in rental real estate in Luxembourg a (2) M. Santos Silva, National Report for Luxemburg, TENANT very attractive option (3). TENLAW, www.tenlaw.uni-bremen.de/reports.html Luxembourg-Ville and its surroundings are by far the (3) Ernst & Young, European real estate assets investment most expensive municipalities: on average, 30 minutes trend indicator 2013, www.luxembourgforfinance.com/ by car away from Luxembourg-Ville prices are 22% lower sitesluxembourgforfinance/files/tas_-_real_estate_ than in the capital (4). Nevertheless, 7 700 people working investment_indicator_final_lr.pdf in Luxembourg have left the country to settle down in a (4) STATEC (2014) Le Logement en chiffres bordering region with lower house prices (5). www.statistiques.public.lu/fr/publications/series/logement- From 2007 to 2014 house prices in Luxembourg have chiffres/index.html increased by 25%, while on average in the Eurozone (5) Conseil Economique et Social (2013), prices in 2014 were lower than at the beginning of 2007 L'accès à un logement abordable (4). The prices of land for property development are the (6) European Commission Alert Mechanism Report 2015 69 main reason for the fast evolution of the housing prices http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/2015/amr2015_en.pdf OWNER OCCUPIED (2). Experts consider that the dynamism of house prices (7) European Commission Staff Working Paper 2014 represents a source of concern. Even if the risk of a sharp http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/csr2014/swd2014_ price correction appears low, there are supply side concerns luxembourg_en.pdf and investment in residential construction is falling (6). (8) STATEC Working Paper (2011), Projections des ménages Key Data: In recent years, housing supply has not kept up with privés et besoins en logement 2010-2030 growing demand associated with population growth (9) Fonds pour le développement du logement et de l’habitat Total number of dwellings (thousands): 208 and this has contributed to urban sprawl and additional RAPPORTS ET BILAN 2013, Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 406 congestion problems (7). The rate of population growth http://5.149.114.75/upload/docs/application/pdf/2014-12/ Total housing completions in 2012: 2 075 in Luxembourg is the second highest in Europe, and bilan_fdl_2013.pdf according to projections by the national statistics institute, (10) National Reform Programme of the Grand Duchy an additional 129 000 housing units are needed by 2030 of Luxembourg under the European Semester 2014 Social housing in Luxembourg: to accommodate for increasing demand, which means http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/pdf/csr2014/nrp2014_ about 6 500 units per year (8) - against an average housing luxembourg_en.pdf Total number of social rental dwellings: 1 935 construction of about 2 800 units per year in 2002-2010. Providers: public promoters : Fonds pour le développement According to the Fonds du Logement (9), 1 149 households were registered as applicants for subsidised rental housing du logement et de l’habitat (Fonds du Logement), Société at the end of 2013, compared to 930 in the previous year. Nationale des Habitations à Bon Marché (SNHBM) (Sources: STATEC: Census 2011, Construction statistics; POLICY DEVELOPMENTS Housing supply Fonds du Logement, SNHBM) The low taxation, combined with a bundle of government measures that reduce the financial burden for housing has not kept up investors, mean that the current taxation system is • Despite price increases, the total share of housing costs in disposable conducive to owner occupation in Luxembourg. Moreover, with growing recently public policy has also been directed at the household income and housing overburden rate are among the lowest promotion of tenancy (2). For instance, a new Law Project in Europe introduced a rent subsidy to help tenants who pay rents demand which surpass one third of their available incomes. In 2011, • Low share of the population with arrears on rent/mortgage and relatively the 30 Social Offices spent a total of 2.53 million in financial associated low level of mortgage indebtedness compared to GDP and to household aid, out of which 27.69% (the largest category of aid) went to subsidize housing costs (10). Furthermore, the Housing income Ministry has been working towards the development with population of public rental through social agencies (Agence Immobilière Sociale - AIS). Finally, the Pacte Logement growth • Among the highest construction costs in Europe and rising land prices - a law approved in 2008 to promote housing provision in • Shortage in new construction cooperation with municipalities - includes measures which are aimed at fostering affordable rental housing, such as the • Urban sprawl

68 which in 2012 accounted for 2 656 applicant households registered on waiting lists, and at the same time guarantees MALTA property owners will have generated incomes from their otherwise vacant properties (4). 2,75 References: OTHER (1) National Statistical Office. Census of population TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS and housing 2011 - Final report. http://census2011.gov.mt/ downloads/Census%202011_Final%20Report.pdf According to the national Census, in 2011 the housing (2) Global Property Guide (2015) House prices in Malta stock in Malta consisted of 223 850 dwellings, out of continue to rise which 152 770 were occupied dwellings (68,2 %), 29 848 http://www.globalpropertyguide.com/Europe/Malta were seasonal or secondary use dwellings (13,3 %) and (3) EU SILC, 2013 41 232 vacant dwellings (18,4 %). Therefore the share of (4) K. Xerri, National Report of Malta, TENLAW vacant homes is high, and it is estimated that 50% of the http://www.tenlaw.uni-bremen.de/ unoccupied dwellings stock is in good state of repair (1). Out of all occupied dwellings in Malta, 76.45% are owner- 19,8 occupied (60,4 % are owned through freeholds; and 16,04 % are owned with ground rent); 19.86% are rented, and RENT 2.75% are held by emphyteusis or used free-of-charge (both included as ‘other’ in the chart above) (2). ...an overall Most of the dwellings, approximately one third, was constructed between the years of 1971 and 1990. Since the high level 1990´s the level of construction has been decreasing, and between 2001 and 2011 19 423 new dwellings were built. The Maltese property market was growing during the pre- of affordability crisis period of 2000-2007, with the overall house price index growing by 78,9 % over that period. Even though of housing costs the house price index dropped with the global 76,45 financial crisis, the decline was not very significant OWNER OCCUPIED and represented an average annual decrease of 2 %. The compared most significant drop of property prices was during 2007- 2009, when the apartment prices fell by 21,1 percent points. to other More recently, according to the Global Property Guide (3), Maltese property prices have been rising for the last 6 quarters. The rising property prices are partially attributed EU countries to the Individual Investor Programme that was introduced in 2013, which allows for the granting of citizenship by a and certificate of naturalisation to affluent individuals and their families based on their contribution to the Maltese economy, including a requirement to make an investment in property good housing Key Data: of at least €350,000 or enter a property rental contract for Total number of dwellings (thousands): 223,9 at least €16,000 per year. Furthermore, first-time buyers are conditions exempted from stamp duty on the first 150 000 EUR of their Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 529 new property´s value, until the end of June 2015. Total housing completions in 2011: 19 423 Despite increasing house prices, EU SILC data seem to point to an overall high level of affordability of housing (Sources: Census of population and housing 2011, TENLAW) costs compared to other EU countries and good housing conditions (4).

POLICY DEVELOPMENTS

The government provides social housing, but the precise size of the social housing sector is not known. The 2011 Census reports that 14 770 rented dwellings are owned by the Government and 1 454 by the Church. There are also a number of low-income families renting privately owned • Lowest rate of housing cost overburden (2.6%), and lowest share dwellings who receive housing allowances. of housing costs in disposable income (10.5%) in the EU The Maltese Housing Authority is overall trying to reduce the amount of vacant dwellings, support • Good housing quality and low share of the population in housing their renovation and return into housing market as deprivation available for social purposes, and recently the Rent Scheme was recently adopted. This scheme incentivises property owners to free up their vacant property for those • Share of the population with arrears on utility bills, and percentage of eligible to social housing, who would in turn have their people unable to keep their home adequately warm above the EU average rent subsidised by the Housing Authority. The programme therefore aims at meeting the demand for social housing, • Significant share of vacant dwellings

70 Social housing corporations invested 5.6 billion in new construction in 2012. Even if their delivery of dwellings has THE dropped by 25% between 2009 and 2012, they still account for 60% of all new home construction in the Netherlands. NETHERLANDS However, plans continue to be reviewed downwards: 33 investments in new dwellings will go from 150.000 to 100.000 in the coming five years. SOCIAL RENT POLICY DEVELOPMENTS

TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS The social housing sector has been going through major changes over the past few years, partly as a response In the Netherlands the housing stock is divided as follows, to direct involvement of the EU with the so called ‘Dutch in terms of tenures: 60% owner-occupation, 33% social case’ on state aid to social housing (Commission Decision renting which is the highest share in the EU and 7% private of 15 December 2009 and related court cases C-133/12 renting. Some 80% of the 2.9 million rental homes in and C-132/12), and Country Specific Recommendations the country are owned by not-for-profit housing targeted at reforming the Dutch social rent sector. corporations and are mostly regulated rental homes. The The government introduced yearly income based rent 7 average rent of social dwellings from social landlords is increases of up to 3 and 5% for middle incomes (between 495 euro per month. Half of all Dutch young people living 34.229 and 43.786 €). The intention is to bring rent levels in PRIVATE RENT independently rent from housing corporations. Also a third the social sector more in line with income levels, incentivize of their tenants are seniors aged above 65 years for whom tenants with higher incomes to move and levy part of this adapted dwellings are available. windfall gain. Supposedly these measures should in due When looking at overcrowding and building features the time open up space for commercial investors and create Dutch rental sector has the highest quality in Europe. a bigger non-regulated, liberalized, rental market. Another Following recent reform of the social housing sector and linked development impacting affordability is a new social a 2015 EU Decision, social dwellings offered by housing housing levy since 2013. The levy applies to landlords corporations have to be rented out to households with a owning more than ten social dwellings and is based on the gross income below € 34,229 per annum. These rules apply value of the dwelling. The government wants the sector to to those social dwellings which have a basic monthly rent pay 1.7 billion euro per year by 2017 – on top of the regular up to € 710,68. Up to 10% of their yearly rentals is allowed corporate tax. It goes hand in hand with the annual rent for people with urgent needs or earning more than the increase. In light of these changes, households with middle 60 income ceiling. incomes are reportedly finding it more difficult to find Since the beginning of the crisis house prices fell by about affordable homes, because the private market simply does OWNER OCCUPIED 20% and housing transactions by over 45% between 2006 not offer enough affordable housing and new investments and 2011. This had a negative impact on consumption are lagging behind. levels, construction activities and the overall economy. The Dutch government has also been very active in dealing Today, the housing market appears to be recovering with with high mortgage indebtedness. On the one hand, the house prices picking up and the number of transactions authorities adopted a code of good practices for mortgage and building permits increasing. At the same time rents providers on how to deal with cases of financial distress. have increased by an average 4.7% in 2013, particularly for On the other hand, mortgage interest deductibility on new Key Data: new occupants and are expected to continue doing so due loans is being gradually reduced. The National Mortgage Total number of dwellings (thousands): 7 200 to more market related rent levels in the regulated sector Guarantee system (NHG) for home-owners is also gradually and increasing demand in the rental sector. Although still lowering the maximum value of dwellings it may cover. small, the liberalized rental segment has been more than Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 429 doubled to 335.000 dwellings of which 62% commercial Housing Completions in 2012: 57 703 and 38% housing corporations since 1998. References: Construction is currently not in line with the increasing (1) Marietta Haffner, Menno van der Veen, Hafida Bounjouh number of households and more demand for rental (2014) National Report for the Netherlands. TENLAW dwellings. ABF Research estimates that the housing Project (2) Aedes Feiten en cijfers http://goo.gl/BvDqG3 Social housing in the Netherlands: shortage has increased by about 50,000 dwellings in the (25.02.15) Total number of social rental dwellings: 2 555 000 past three years and expects that the shortage will double (3) OTB/TU Delft (2014) Woonuitgaven van de huurder, and reach about 300,000 dwellings in 2020- a shortage of internationale vergelijking EU-SILC 2012 Yearly social housing completion in 2012: 31 100 about 4%-, especially in areas around Utrecht, Amsterdam, (4) European Commission (2012). The housing market in the and The Hague. Shortages will appear above all in the Netherlands. Economic Papers 457, June 2012 Providers: housing corporations rental sector. At the same time, some areas in the periphery (5) European Commission (2014) Alert Mechanism Report (Sources: Eurostat, Ministry BZK, AEDES) of the Netherlands like in parts of Zealand, Groningen or 2015 Limburg have to deal with shrinking population. Until 2040 (6) Woonbond, the Dutch Tenant’s Union (2014) The Dutch a third of all Dutch municipalities will see a decrease of their debate on social housing. Article appeared in Global population. Tenant, International Not only does the Netherlands have the highest share of (7) Union of Tenants' Quarterly Magazine, December 2014 social housing but the country also has the highest share (8) Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties of outstanding residential mortgage debt compared (2014) Staat van de Woningmarkt • Steadily the highest social renting share in the EU to GDP in the EU, with over 108%. The high level of (9) ABF Research (2012) based on ABF Primos prognosis mortgage indebtedness has been encouraged by favorable (10) Hospers and Reverda (2015) Managing Population • Satisfying levels of independent living both for the young tax treatment such as deductibility of the mortgage interests Decline in Europe's Urban and Rural Areas and the rise of the securitization industry in the ’90s. The (11) European Mortgage Federation (2013). Hypostat 2013 - and for the elderly share of underwater mortgages is 30%. The number of A review of Europe’s mortgage and housing markets • The Dutch rental sector has the highest quality in Europe mortgage arrears increased from 62.000 in 2013 to 77.000 (12) International Monetary Fund (2015), IMF Multi-country in 2014. Report Housing Recoveries: cluster report on Denmark, The net rent-cost-to-income-ratio is 26,5 % in the rental Ireland, kingdom of the Netherlands—the Netherlands, and sector, against 17,7% for the costs of home-owners. Some Spain. IMF Country Report No. 15/1, January 2015 • Construction not in line with the increasing number of households 9% of all renting households have a housing cost ratio above (13) GFK (2014) Rapportage Woonlasten- en 40%. These figures increased compared to 2009. Despite inkomensontwikkeling and with the demand for rental dwellings early stage preventive actions, social housing corporations (14) WSW (2014) Trendanalyse woningcorporaties 2014- • Share of mortgage arrears is growing proceeded with the eviction of 6.980 households in 2013 2018 (8% more than in 2012) due mainly to rent arrears. • Middle incomes face more difficulties to find affordable homes

72 Building Associations and cooperatives, but the lack of POLAND implementing secondary legislation has brought social housing construction to a deadlock, although in 2008 alone demand in this respect was estimated at over 90 thousand housing units. 16,2 A new “Housing for Young People” programme COOPERATIVE HOUSING (“Mieszkanie dla mlodych”) is being implemented over the TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS period 2014-2018. Beneficiaries can receive co-financing from state for purchasing a flat below a certain size and According to the Central Statistical Office of Poland, the price defined on the basis of the local average property number of dwellings in 2013 was 13 853 000 units, with an values. Through this scheme young people and young average 360 dwellings per 1 000 population (1), the lowest in married couples can access better mortgage conditions the EU. In 2013, approximately 75,4 % of the overall housing from banks to buy their first home. The total budget of this stock was in private ownership (of which 57,2 % were 0,8 program is 3 553 million PLN (approximately 853 million houses and 18,2 % were dwellings into condominiums); EUR). (2) PRIVATE RENT 16,2 % was provided by cooperatives; 6,7 % was rented by Another important instrument of housing policy is financial municipalities; 0,8 % was rented by companies; 0,7 % was support for the emergency housing programme rented by social housing associations (know ans TBS) and (housing for the poorest and those in special needs), the rest (0,2 %) by the State Treasury. introduced in 2007 and still in force. According to the The stock in cooperative ownership along with programme, the financial support is provided to local housing owned by social building associations is authorities to co-finance purchase, construction or being systematically reduced by transfer to private refurbishment of very low-income rental housing. Also 7,6 individual ownership (2). Nevertheless, in spite of the official the investments of social housing associations may be state policy promoting primarily private individual ownership, supported within the programme. The state subsidies vary SOCIAL RENT the vast possibilities of conversion of cooperative rights into from 30 % to 50 % of the investment costs. proper ownership have not led to their elimination. Municipal The thermal modernisation and renovation support housing is also significant, with low rents compared to programme, in operation since 1999, provides subsidies average rents in private sector (3). to reduce the energy consumption of residential buildings. Estimates concerning the latest trends in housing The programme aims to increase the quality of the existing construction have identified adeficit of about 500 000 housing stock and generate energy savings. The major units, a significant decrease from over 1 million units beneficiaries of the subsidies are housing cooperatives and 75,4 in 2011. Estimates differ partly due to the existence of a condominiums (4). ‘grey’ unofficial rental market. In 2014 about 143 400 OWNER OCCUPIED dwellings were built in Poland (about 3,7 dwellings per 1000 References: people). The majority were built by individual households (1) Central Statistical Office of Poland http://stat.gov.pl/en/ and commercial developers (4). (2) Auditing Union of Housing Co-operatives (ZRSM RP) Mortgage loans were practically non-existent in Poland in http://zrsmrp.com.pl/i1.html the nineties, but the market took off around 2000 and kept (3) G. Panek, National Report on Poland, TENLAW expanding very rapidly until late 2000's. Due to an increase in http://www.tenlaw.uni-bremen.de/ the volume on non-performing loans since 2008, the Polish (4) Housing Department of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Financial Supervisory Authority issued recommendations Development of Poland leading to more prudential practices and stricter (5) Information provided by the Auditing Union of Housing Key Data: lending conditions. Another challenge is related to the Co-operatives (ZRSM RP), based on statements Total number of dwellings (thousands): 13 853 fact that a substantial amount of housing loans has been by the Financial Supervisory Autority contracted in foreign currencies and particularly in Swiss Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 360 francs (2). The rapid increase in the exchange rate of the Total housing completions in 2014: 143 373 Swiss Franc in January 2015 is estimated to have impacted about 1 million Poles, and the Financial Supervisory (Source: Ministry of Infrastructure and Development of Poland) Authority has recommended banks to use restructuring solutions tailored to individual needs and adapted to current market conditions (5). "Housing House prices have been stable over the last years. The stability of prices connected to the low interest rates and for the poorest increasing salaries improved the housing affordability, however commercial banks (major lenders of mortgage loans) tightened the conditions of granting new loans. The and those cost of renting dwellings in the big cities is similar to • Housing overburden rate below the EU average the cost of payment of mortgage loan, and the level of in special needs" • Still significant social and cooperative housing stock compared rents remains stable. - introduced to other CEE countries POLICY DEVELOPMENTS • Severe housing deprivation rate is high at 10.1 compared to 5.2 EU average In 2009 the controversial decision was taken to liquidate in 2007 and still the National Housing Fund, which until then had been • Housing shortage supporting the provision of affordable rental housing. Under in force... • Risk of default for housing loans, particularly those contracted the current legislation, the public Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego is to award preferential credits to Social in foreign currency

74 market as part of the Economic Adjustment Programme agreed with the European Commission, the European PORTUGAL Central Bank and the IMF. The reform gives the landlords more flexibility by providing with easier conditions to renegotiate open-ended residential leases, a framework 7 to improve access to housing by phasing out rent control OTHER mechanisms, prioritising the socially vulnerable, reduction TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS of prior notice for termination of lease, and an extrajudicial eviction procedure for breach of contract, aiming at the According to the latest Housing Census, 73% of dwellings shortening of the eviction time to three months. in Portugal are owner occupied, 20% rented of which Furthermore, the authorities announced their intention 18% on the private market and 2% through social leases/ of stepping up efforts to combat tax evasion in the supported leases, while there is also 7% of other tenures, rental market, and have been requested by the European such as free housing concession, usufruct, or those whose 2 Commission to implement monitoring of the housing market accommodation is provided by the employer. and to carry out a study on the shadow economy in the SOCIAL RENT There is a very high number of secondary residences Portuguese rental market. (over a million in 2011, about 19% of the national housing There are several state programmes that provide financing stock), and vacant dwellings are 12.5% of the total for the construction of social rental dwellings (PER, Porta housing stock despite the fact that owners of vacant 65 Jovem, renda apoiada, renda social) but social housing dwellings pay higher taxes. It is estimated that in Portugal policies have always been restricted to households with there are twice as many vacant dwellings as are needed to severe needs and the sector is small. Additionally, the new fulfill the housing needs. programme Social Rental Market (Mercado Social de 18 Those who are in housing need include poor households, Arrendamento) was established in 2012 as one of the several and people whose income does not allow them to measures of the Social Emergency Plan. The programme PRIVATE RENT access home ownership but is too high to qualify for allows using real estate seized by banks at a 30% lower social housing. This situation concerns particularly young level than the regular market. It is aimed at people who can’t people: about 58% of Portuguese aged between 18 and access social housing, but don’t have enough income to 34 still live with their parents, mostly due to unemployment buy their own house. or temporary contracts of employment that contribute to a later departure from the parental home. References In terms of recent market dynamics, first of all it’s important (1) National report on Portugal, TEN LAW Project 73 to point out that Portugal along with Germany are the only (2) Idem Eurozone countries where the real estate prices have not (3) Eurostat OWNER OCCUPIED experienced a boom since the ’80s. Therefore, although (4) OECD (2010) the housing market is stagnating, Portugal is escaping (5) Standard and Poors (2013) Standard and poors House a significant slump in house prices following the global Prices Are Still Falling In Most European Markets As The financial crisis in 2007. Today,the impact of the financial Recession Bites crisis is mainly on the demand side, where the high (6) Statistics of the Bank of Portugal level of unemployment, decline in consumer confidence, the (7) http://goo.gl/Mg53AA Key Data: deteriorating outlook for the housing market, the evolution of (8) Law no. 31/2012, of 14th August Total number of dwellings (thousands): 5 878,7 non-housing related consumption expenditure are lowering (9) EC (2014) Country Specific Recommendations demand for homebuyers. Despite the absence of a real to Portugal Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 556 estate bubble, policy support for home ownership has led (10) Housing Europe Review 2012 Housing Completions in 2012: 22 996 to relatively high households’ indebtedness. In the end of 2013, about 8% of mortgages were in arrears. Interestingly though, banks cannot confiscate real estate in Portugal, even in the case of debtor default. Due to low interest credit regime, for decades it was basically more convenient to buy a home than to rent, even for low income households. This • Social Rental Market Programme guarantees that more regime was terminated in 2002 and from 2007 onwards the About 58% banks started to implement more stringent criteria for the people have access to decent, affordable housing approval of private home loans. of Portuguese • On average good quality of the housing stock POLICY DEVELOPMENTS aged between • Vacant dwellings represent 12,5% of the total housing stock Housing policy in Portugal has consisted for many decades 18 and 34 • 58% of Portuguese between 18 and 34 years old still live with in allowing households to buy a home by conferring access to credit facilities. their parents However, since the early 2000s, there has been increasing still live • Relatively high household indebtedness attention to rental tenures. The tenancy market in Portugal was characterized for decades by a rent freeze applying to with their parents old leases. Despite two reforms (Urban Tenancy Regime in 1990, and New Urban Tenancy Regime in 2006) in old leases the landlord still couldn´t give notice and it was still very hard to increase the rents. The latest reform to In 2014, Portugal received the following recommendation from the European Commission: Further improve the tenancy law occurred in 2012, as a response to the evaluation of the housing market, including by setting up, by the end of 2014, a more systematic monitoring and reporting obligation that Portugal assumed to fostering the rental framework and issue a comprehensive report on the shadow economy in that market.

76 program have fallen short of expectations, as it was nearly only used for sale of existing dwellings and barely 5 % of ROMANIA total lending contributed to new construction. Parallel to this, a VAT exemption was introduced for new housing construction of apartments below 120 m2, and with total 0,3 costs of up to 90 000 EUR (1). OTHER TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS References (1) Bejan, I., Botonogu, F., Armasu, I., National Report on According to 2012 data from the National Institute of Romania, TEN LAW http://www.tenlaw.uni-bremen.de/ Statistics, 98,2 % of Romanian conventional dwelling stock (2) Global Property Guide (2015). Property in Romania. is owner occupied, the largest share of home ownership http://www.globalpropertyguide.com/Europe/Romania in the EU. 1,5 % is owned and rented out by the state, (3) The National Institute of Statistics, Construction and 0,3 % is made up of other forms of ownership (1). of dwellings in Quarter IV and year 2014 According to official statisticsthe private rental sector (4) EU SILC, 2013 http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/ is virtually non-existing. The share of private rental income-and-living-conditions/data/database sector is unanimously considered underestimated and the 1,5 main reason for this is tax avoidance. The private rental housing has significantly increased since 1990, resulting SOCIAL RENT from privatization and restitution combined with rent control elimination, and experts estimate the actual size of the private rental sector may be about 11-12%of the total housing stock (1). ...only Romania´s housing market is still in recession after several years of severe house price declines, despite 66.7% of houses its slowly reviving economy. From 2002 to early 2007, property prices and demand rose in anticipation of EU accession. Following the beginning of Global Financial benefit from Crisis, house prices compared to the previous year plunged 98,2 by 20.62 % in 2009, by 4.07 % in 2011, and by 1.31% in running water... 2012, and by 3% in 2013. The construction sector remains OWNER OCCUPIED depressed as well. The total number of residential building permits dropped by 7,6 % in 2013 in comparison to the previous year (2). In 2014 42 589 dwellings were completed, 2,3 % fewer than in 2013. The amount of completed dwellings built with public funds in the same year decreased by 1 117 units compared to 2013, for a total of 923 new subsidized dwellings (3). Although the situation has shown improvement since 20 07, lack of basic amenities in the dwellings is still a widespread phenomenon in Romania, especially in rural areas. Data on housing deprivation are the worse in the Key Data: EU. One third of homes in Romania have no indoor toilet, and the same share has no bath or shower (3). Preliminary Total number of dwellings (thousands): 8 329 results of the 2011 census show that only 66.7% of houses Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 425 benefit from running water, 65.1% benefit from sewage system, 96.6% have electricity and 44.4% of houses have Total housing completions in 2014: 42 589 central heating (1). (Sources: National Institute of Statistics) POLICY DEVELOPMENTS

Public housing is, essentially, financed from the local budgets, and rents are very low. The constant reduction of public housing has resulted in very long waiting lists (1). The National Housing Agency (Agentia Nationala pentru Locuinte) has been established as a self-financing institution, and its main objectives are to promote housing markets, stimulate new housing construction and rehabilitate the existing housing stock. Its programmes focus on mortgage-financed housing construction for private • Recently adopted programmes to support young people ownership, provision of rental housing for young and Roma families people and a pilot-program for Roma families (1). The ‘First home’ programme (Prima Casa) was launched in 2009 as a measure to tackle the crisis and sustain the • Highest rate of home ownership in the EU and very residual rental sector construction sector. This programme was meant to provide state guarantees to loans for first time buyers given by • Highest rate of severe housing deprivation in the EU (23% compared to 5.2%) participating banks. Unfortunately, the outcomes of the • Very high share of the population with arrears on utility bills

78 since 2009 from 0.54 % to 0.36 % in 2013. SLOVAK In January 2015 the Concept of State Housing Policy until 2020 was adopted by the Government. This concept represents a document that summarizes the results REPUBLIC achieved in housing policy during the last period, outlines the 3,5 priorities for the future period and defines tasks, which have OTHER to be fulfilled by each ministry to meet all goals. Global aim of the new Concept of State Housing Policy for 2015 – 2020 is sustainable housing development with two priorities. First TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS priority is strengthening and development of public rental sector and second priority is complex and thorough According to the 2011 Census, the overall housing stock renewal of existing housing stock. The Concept has in Slovakia accounted for 1 994 897 housing units out of defined also specific objectives, which are the creation of 3 which 205 729 units were vacant. Presently, there are 370 new housing development financial tools; increasing the dwellings per 1 000 inhabitants, the second lowest share housing affordability; motives to develop the private rental SOCIAL RENT in the EU after Poland. Nevertheless, it is important to add housing sector; to increase or at least retain the same share that according to expert estimates, the results and numbers of public spending for housing; to introduce new housing stated in the Census might be 10 % lower than in reality. The allowance and to develop the non-profit sector. overall housing stock in Slovakia in 2011 consisted of 90.5 % owner occupied housing, 6 % rental dwellings (out of References which 3 % are rented by municipalities and 3 % are rented Based on The Ministry of Transport, Construction and privately) and 3,5 % owned by housing cooperatives. Social Regional Development (2015) The Concept of State Housing 3 housing in Slovakia is mainly provided by municipalities and Policy until 2020, except when otherwise indicated. financed by state funding. Together, they manage a housing (1) http://slovak.statistics.sk/ PRIVATE RENT stock of approximately 127 000 dwellings throughout the (2) EU SILC, 2013 country. The housing construction in Slovakia is slowly recovering after the significant decrease caused by the global economic crisis in 2008. From 2009 until 2013 private housing construction decreased almost by one half, to 14 758 flats in 2013. Housing construction 90,5 provided by municipalities for social purposes accounted Approximately OWNER OCCUPIED for 2 007 social dwellings in 2014 and is slowly growing in comparison to previous period, but there is still a strong 74% of Slovak shortage of affordable social housing. Approximately 74 % of Slovak inhabitants aged between 18 – 34 years are living with their parents, the highest share in the inhabitants aged Key Data: EU according to EU SILC data . Total number of dwellings (thousands): 1 994,9 House prices in Slovakia rose significantly between 2002 between 18 - 34 when the average price was 592 EUR/m2, and 2008 when Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 370 they peaked at 1 511 EUR/m2 . They have been slowly Housing completions in 2011: 14 608 decreasing since then, until 1 226 EUR/m2 in 2013. It´s years are living expected a mild increase of property prices over the next years, as a consequence of low mortgage interest rates and with their Social housing in Slovakia higher demand for housing financing services. Even though Slovakia is a small country in comparison to Total number of social rental dwellings: 127 000 other European countries, there are huge differences parents, Yearly social housing completion in 2014: 2 007 in property prices between Slovak regions, with Bratislava being in long-term the most expensive location the highest share Providers: municipalities with average property price of 1 660 EUR/m2 in 2013. in the EU POLICY DEVELOPMENTS • Increasing social housing construction Current housing policy is focusing on both, demand and • Policy orientation on strengthening and developing of public rental supply side. Supply side is subsidized since 1998 through the State Fund for Housing Development. Demand sector and renewal of existing housing stock side is subsidized by several financial tools primarily focused on mortgage loans and young families. The state financial support for housing development was • Second lowest share of dwellings per 1 000 inhabitants in the EU divided in 2014 as follows – 61 % from the State Fund for • Highest share of young people living with their parents in the EU Housing Development; 14 % as state bonus to construction savings; 13 % as subsidies from the Ministry of Transport, • Decreasing share of public spending on housing Construction and Regional Development and 12 % as state bonus to mortgage loans. The State Fund for Housing Development is primarily supporting the financing of new social housing construction. The share of public spending In 2014, the European Commission recommended Slovakia should ‘reform property taxation and link it to the market on housing from state budget on total GDP was declining value of property, considering the fact, that revenues from this tax remain low and unchanged in relative terms since 2000’.

80 years. As stated in the National Report for Slovenia, after the previous National Housing Policy for the period of SLOVENIA 2000 – 2009 was terminated, Slovenia has had no other documents concerning the housing policy. The National Program of Social Security for 2011 – 2020 is dealing 14 partially with the housing policy and tenancy law as well, OTHER providing principles, objectives and strategies for the TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS housing sector.

Property market in Slovenia was at the beginning of March References 2015 still sluggish, even though the house price-decline (1) Statistical Office RS (2015) Real Estate Prices was slowing. The crisis was concentrated mainly in the (2) Statistical Office RS (2015) Building permits by capital city of Ljubljana and the southern Adriatic coastal MEASURES and YEAR region of Slovenia, with prices plunged by 12 % during 6 (3) Statistical Office RS (2015) STAT´O´BOOK – statistical 2013. In the rest of Slovenia, the situation was not that overview of Slovenia 2014 SOCIAL RENT dramatic, with prices for existing flats rising by 3,3 %.After (4) Statistical Office RS (2015) Estimation of buildings and booming in 2000, Slovenia´s house prices peaked in dwellings completed 2008 and started to decline in 2009 due to the global (5) Statistical Office RS (2015) Families and Households economic crisis. House Price Index fell by 17,5 % in 2009 (6) Petrovič. T. (2014) National Report for Slovenia in comparison with previous year followed by a slight increase in 2010 and 2011. The decrease in property prices continued during the last two years with a 4,4 % decrease 3 both in 2013 and in 2014. The number of construction permits for buildings was PRIVATE RENT increasing in 2013 in comparison with previous year and reached 3 443 permits - increase of 7,5 % - following As much as 96% a long-term decrease since 2007, when the amount of permits reached 5 858. of elderly According to the Housing Fund of the Republic of Slovenia and the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, there were 857 007 dwellings in the country in 2013 with are 77 a decreasing tendency since 2008. According to the 2011 OWNER OCCUPIED Census there are 813 531 households with an average homeowners of 2,48 people per dwelling and 412 dwellings per 1 000 residents. Housing stock in Slovenia is divided into 77 % of owner- occupied dwellings, 9 % are rented ones, 6 % are rented in public sector owned by municipalities and other non-profit housing organizations and 3 % are rented by other legal entities- and 14 % of the dwellings fall under other forms of tenure. The overall share of rental tenures according to their share in the housing stock was in 2012 as follows: • 70 % were non-profit rental tenures • 20 % market or profit rental tenures • 7 % rented for company purposes and Key Data: • 3 % dedicatedly rented to older people Total number of dwellings (thousands): 857 As much as 96 % of elderly are homeowners. There were approximately 175 000 empty dwellings including the Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 412 secondary homes in 2011. As a reaction on the Global Housing Completions in 2012: 4 307 Financial Crisis have the rent prices of dwellings have decreased by roughly 30 %. In 2012 the average rental price for two-room dwellings in Ljubljana was 180 EUR per month.

POLICY DEVELOPMENTS

As a reaction to the impact of the crisis on the Slovenian housing market and on the national economy as a whole the Act on the Natural Persons Guarantee Scheme (Zakon o Jamstveni Shemi RS za Fizične Osebe) has been adopted. This act has enabled more lenient conditions of • Not significant overall housing shortage lending for those individuals, who were unable to obtain a loan before and it facilitated new bridging loans or • Act on the Natural Persons Guarantee Scheme reprogramming of old loans to those that were affected by the crisis and could not repay their obligations from the already obtained loans. Loans are ranging from 5 000 EUR • Imbalanced tenure split to 100 000 EUR for a maximum repayment period of 25

82 debtors, on debt restructuring and on social housing fund’. The law has tightened conditions for launching foreclosures, SPAIN and establishes emergency provisions providing relief to over-indebted insolvent households. Vulnerable families who were evicted after January 1rst, 2008 may apply for 5,1 the so-called ‘social housing fund’. The latter is based on OTHER an agreement with banks where they transfer a proportion TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS of their housing stock into the social rental sector. The fund has started off with 5891 dwellings, and take-up The Spanish housing market experienced one of the rates have been relatively low, possibly due to restrictive strongest and longest periods of boom, up until the eligibility criteria. At the same time the elimination of financial crisis. Between 1997 and 2007, housing prices tax-deductible mortgage payment from the beginning rose by 232%. The financial crisis had the immediate of 2013, is expected to reduce the bias towards home- effect of bursting the Spanish real estate bubble. 2,4 ownership. Construction almost stopped: while 727 893 building As for the rental sector, Law 4/2013 on the promotion of REDUCED RENT / FREE permits were granted in the peak year 2006, in 2011 the rental housing market brings about significant changes, the number was barely 77 725 according to data by the mainly by providing better conditions for landlords Ministry of Development. House prices declined by over in terms of greater flexibility in ending rental agreements, 20% between 2007 and 2012. As of today, there is a great reducing compulsory minimum time extension, giving the number of empty/unsold homes the majority of which landlord more freedom to increase rents, and faster legal are owned by banks (687,523 dwellings in 2011). procedures for evictions. In terms of tenure distribution, Spain is historically Since July 2012 the production of social housing has been 13,5 characterized by a ‘home ownership culture’, driven paralyzed and there has been no new social housing by both market dynamics and state policies. According to construction due to lack of public funding, and difficulties PRIVATE RENT data by the INE, 82.2% of Spanish households are owners, accessing financing from credit institutions. Two main while 12.1% are tenants (almost entirely privately provided). initiatives address this issue: first, the new State Housing Despite this clear home ownership prevalence, from 2007 Plan 2013-2016 subsidises the creation of public onwards market access for new acquirers was hindered by social rental housing as well as support to tenants on low the high unemployment rates, the tightening of mortgage incomes. And it also subsidises rehabilitation, regeneration conditions and the impossibility of selling one's own dwelling. and renovation of buildings. Second, some local authorities This went in parallel with an increase in the demand for have started establishing agreements with banks holding 78,9 rental housing, particularly from groups of the population a large number of empty/unsold homes to use part of this who cannot afford to pay high rents, such as the youth. 55% stock as social rental housing, but this measure is not yet OWNER OCCUPIED of young people between 18 and 35 live with their parents, widespread. a higher share than the EU average (48.2%). This situation of mismatch in the market is aggravated by the marginal References volume of public rental housing. The traditional model (1) Carlos Cuerpo and Peter Pontuch (2013) of public housing provision – the Vivienda de Proteccion Spanish housing market: adjustment and implications. in Oficial or VPO (‘protected’ housing) - is basically a form of ECFIN Country Focus, Volume 10 Issue 8, December 2013, low-cost access to home ownership, where the dwellings http://goo.gl/xvYL4b cannot be sold on the market for a given period of time. The (2) ‘Informe sobre el ajuste del sector inmobiliario español’ VPO sector has dramatically decreased its activity over the (Madrid: Ministerio de Fomento, 2012) http://goo.gl/UuKfdy past 4 years while there are also some dwellings left unsold. (3) The Story of the ‘bad bank’SAREB http://goo.gl/Ll49q0 Key Data: The rising prices of residential housing until 2006 and the (4) Institudo National Estadisticas, http://www.ine.es/ trend towards home ownership have caused a sharp increase (5) TENLAW Spain Report http://goo.gl/HCSlTA Total number of dwellings (thousands): 25 208 in households’ debt over the past two decades. From 2007 Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 538 until the third quarter of 2012, 416,975 foreclosures were undertaken and the issue of foreclosures in Spain has attracted the attention of national and international public opinion, especially as the European Court of Justice in 2013 ruled against property repossession laws in Spain for violating European Union laws on consumer protection. The law has been changed since.

POLICY DEVELOPMENTS

In recent years efforts from the Spanish government in the • Social Housing Fund- banks transfer a proportion of their housing field of housing have concentrated mainly onfostering the stock into the social rental sector rental sector, as well as supporting highly indebted households and vulnerable groups. In 2012, the Spanish • New State Housing Plan 2013-2016 that subsidizes creation of public authorities introduced a temporary moratorium on evictions social rental housing for households that meet vulnerability criteria, including large families, single-parent families with children under three, without unemployment benefits or with disabled • Way too many empty homes owned by banks members. • 55% of 18-35-year-olds live with their parents (well above EU average) Furthermore, in May 2013, the Spanish Parliament adopted Law 1/2013 on ‘strengthening protection for mortgage • Extremely high number of foreclosures undertaken from 2007 to 2012

84 Furthermore, in 2008 the national real estate tax was abolished and replaced by a lower property fee (5). While SWEDEN households living in owner-occupied properties and tenant ownership have retained favorable fiscal conditions, on the contrary support for public housing started to be phased 19 out in the 1990s. One consequence is that rental housing is disadvantaged compared to other forms of tenure PRIVATE RENT TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS in Sweden. In 2011, a new law was introduced defining that the Most housing statistics are available by dwelling type municipal housing companies receive no specific rather than tenure in Sweden, and statistics are separated subsidies and they have to act in a business-like way and between one or two dwelling houses and multi-dwelling at the same time take social responsibility. This went hand houses. Furthermore, there are four different regulatory in hand with reform to the rent negotiation system: Until types of tenure in Sweden: direct ownership represents 2011 negotiations between municipal housing companies 19 40 %, tenant ownership (in housing cooperatives) 22 %, and their tenants would set the reference also for the private public rental 19 % and private rental 19 %. Sweden has sector, but this system has been reformed and private PUBLIC RENT by definition no social housing, i.e. there’s no part of the landlords were granted equal status in the rent housing stock that benefits from special subsidies to the negotiation process. builder/owner, and reserved for low-income households Households with social problems who cannot find suitable (1). But almost half of the rental sector is owned by housing on the market refer to social authorities to get municipally owned housing companies, whose goal is assistance in finding a home, and social authorities can to provide housing for all, regardless of gender, age, origin or in turn negotiate solutions either with private or municipal incomes. The rents don't differ much between private and landlords. Furthermore, housing allowances are available for low income households, more specifically for elderly 22 public rental housing as the ‘utility value´ principle applies to both sectors. This means that rents and rent increases are people and households with children (1). TENANT OWNERSHIP decided through collective bargaining at local level between To increase supply of housing, the Planning and Building tenants and landlords (2). Act was modified in 2014,simplifying the planning There is significant pressure within the Swedish housing permission process. Most recently, in March 2015 the market. Much of Sweden is facing a housing shortage, new Government proposed the introduction of an primarily in its metropolitan regions as the country incentive for new building. This proposal will form part of has one of the highest levels of urbanisation in the EU. the Budget Bill for 2016 and is estimated to amount of SEK The level of additional new homes has been very low, 3.2 billion per year. With this proposed budget framework, while population growth has been high and, according support could be given to about 15,000 apartments per 40 to forecasts, this will continue. Expert calculations based year. A further SEK 3.5 billion will be allocated to support DIRECT OWNERSHIP on information from Statistics Sweden, show an acute municipalities with increased housing construction, shortage of housing. Approximately 150,000 dwellings improvements to the efficiency of administrative processing, were built in Sweden between 2008 and 2013, falling short energy efficiency improvements to homes built under the of the 276,000 dwellings needed to match the increase in Millions Homes Programme, city environment agreements population over the same period. This was partly due to and support for the construction of homes for the elderly. the negative impact of the financial crisis on new housing Some measures have been recently taken in terms of construction. Besides this construction deficit of about 126 mortgage regulation in order to avoid over-indebtedness: 000 units, Sweden also needs to build a further 310,000 from October 2010, a maximum loan-to-value ratio of dwellings to match the forthcoming increase in population 85 percent has been applied to all new mortgages. over the next six years. In total, this calls for 436,000 new Furthermore, new government regulation on fairer rules for Key Data: homes by 2020 (3). repayment of mortgages entered into force in July 2014, Sweden has one of the lowest housebuilding rates aiming at facilitating the possibility for the consumer to Total number of dwellings (thousands): 4 633 678 in Europe along with the Netherlands and the UK. Partly repay one's fixed rate mortgage or to switch banks . responsible for this is the fact that the Swedish housing Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 480 construction prices are the highest in the EU, at around References Total housing completions in 2013: 29 225 55% above the EU average (4), and they have increased ((1) Lind (2014) Social housing in Sweden. In Scanlon, significantly more that the general price levels over the past Whitehead and Fernandez Arrigoitia, Social Housing (Source: Statistics Sweden) two decades. Building a multi-dwelling building currently in Europe, available at http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/ WileyTitle/productCd-1118412346.html costs almost two and a half times more than it did in the (2) C. Whitehead (2012) The Private Rented Sector in the mid-1990s, while other price trends increased by just over New Century - A comparative approach http://www.lse. 30 per cent over the same period (3). ac.uk/geographyAndEnvironment/research/london/pdf/ Despite an initial decrease after the 2008 global economic The-Private-Rented-Sector-WEB[1].pdf crisis, in 2009 housing prices started to grow again (3) Information provided by SABO, based on Statistics and have continued to rise since, while most other EU Sweden http://www.scb.se/en_/ countries saw their house prices fall over the same period. (4) Eurostat Private households’ indebtedness has also been increasing. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index. Housing segregation is increasing and some residential • Diverse housing market with different options for rent, home ownership php/Comparative_price_levels_for_investment areas of Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö and other major (5) O. Bååth, National Report for Sweden, TENLAW and cooperative housing cities tend to show a high proportion of rented apartments http://www.tenlaw.uni-bremen.de/reports.html with a high concentration of tenants of non-Swedish origin. (7) European Commission, Country Report Sweden 2015 http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/making-it-happen/ • Severe shortage of housing supply contributing to increasing house prices POLICY DEVELOPMENTS country-specific-recommendations/index_en.htm • Housing taxation biased towards house purchase and encouraging The Swedish tax system strongly encourages house mortgage indebtedness purchase. For owner occupiers, 30% of mortgage interest • Highest housing construction price levels in the EU can be deducted. It is also possible to get a tax rebate on 50% of the cost of repair, renovation and extension work. • High level of mortgage indebtedness compared to GDP

86 stimulus, such as in England the Help to Buy scheme, which allows tenants from council and housing associations UNITED KINGDOM to buy their home at a discount. Similar schemes are also available in Wales and Northern Ireland. On the contrary, the Housing Act that will enter into force in 2016 will end the 18,2 Right to Buy in Scotland. SOCIAL RENT On the contrary, there has been a drastic reduction in TRENDS IN HOUSING MARKETS supply-side assistance. The 2010 Government Spending Review saw capital investment in housing cut by 63% in real Social housing in the United Kingdom is mainly provided terms - the biggest single cut to any capital budget across by housing associations (HA) and local authorities (LA). government, requiring HAs to borrow more from private Housing production by local authorities has increased again sources. Under the current 2011-2015 funding programme after the crisis, following a decade of almost inactivity, but - the Affordable Homes Programme - HAs are encouraged remains low (2 330 units completed in 2012/13). Most new to apply to the majority of new letting ‘affordable rents’, i.e. social housing construction is carried out by housing rents set up to 80% of local market rental value. associations (27 160 completions in 2012/13). Parallel to this, housing benefits (which are available to The latest available figures showa strong increase in tenants in both the private and social rental sector) are also 17,6 private renters and a decline in owner occupation: undergoing reform, as part of the 2012 Welfare Reform PRIVATE RENT Act. The Act introduces a new Universal Credit which will replace most existing benefits (including housing benefits) and limits the total amount of benefit a person can claim. The welfare reforms impact the way tenants receive benefit, in many cases, removing the option of having benefit paid direct to landlords. The Act also introduced a new size After a peak in 2007-08, overall housing construction has criteria in the social rented sector: housing benefits are decreased significantly ever since. The UK suffers from a reduced for working-age council or housing association chronicle shortage of housing supply, and in particular tenants who have ‘spare’ bedrooms. This housing benefit of affordable homes. In England alone it is estimated that reduction is called the under-occupancy charge, but is 64,2 about 245 000 new homes are needed per year to keep up more commonly known as the ‘bedroom tax’. with growing demand, but currently only about half of this OWNER OCCUPIED is built yearly (1). This has consequences on affordability, with house prices rising much faster than wages: References: across the UK, the average home now costs seven times (1) National Housing Federation, Home Truths 2014/15: Key Data: the average salary, while it was 4.5 times the average salary Broken Market, Broken Dreams Total number of dwellings (thousands): 27 767 in the 1960s (1). Housing markets differ significantly https://www.housing.org.uk/media/home-truths/ Number of dwellings per 1000 inhabitants: 437 across regions, notably with London being one of the (2) Office for National Statistics, Comparison of regional most expensive housing markets in Europe and prices house price indices before and after the financial crisis, Housing completions in 2012: 135 510 there further spiraling. Interestingly, the crisis seems to have http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/hpi/house-price-index/ exacerbated regional differences. Overall, the average UK april-2014/info-hpi-comparison.html Social housing in the United Kingdom: house price index has increased from 185.5 in January (3) DCLG English Housing Survey 2012/13 Total number of social rental dwellings: 4 936 2008 to 197.4 in April 2014 (where 2002=100). But looking https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/ more in details we find that London's house price index has attachment_data/file/284648/English_Housing_Survey_ Social housing production in 2012: 29 490 increased by 31.6% since its peak before the financial crisis Headline_Report_2012-13.pdf Providers: Housing associations, local authorities (2008), and in the South East has also increased by 7.2%. (4) Housing Benefit caseload statistics (data November (Sources: DECLG, CSO Census 2011) On the contrary in all other areas the index has decreased, 2014) https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/number- the most dramatic decrease being in Northern Ireland of-housing-benefit-claimants-and-average-weekly-spare- (-49.6%). room-subsidy-amount-withdrawal • Data on quality of the housing show a good situation compared Housing costs are increasing also in the rental sector, (5) Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2014 to EU average. Nevertheless both overcrowding and the rate of with private renters in England spending on average 40% of https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit- under-occupied dwellings have been increasing since 2005, and the their income on rents (compared to 30% for social renters) expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2014 (3).This also has the effect of increasing the housing benefits (6) Live tables on rents, lettings and tenancies percentage of the population declaring they're unable to keep home bill: currently over 4.8 million claiming housing benefit in https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live- adequately warm has increased from 5.7% in 2005 to 10.6% in 2013 Great Britain (4), and the amount the government is tables-on-rents-lettings-and-tenancies according to EU SILC spending on housing benefits has been increasing (7) Live tables on homelessness from 21,400 million Pounds in 2010/11 to 26,800 in 2013/14 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live- • Severe shortage of housing supply (5). tables-on-homelessness Social consequences of expensive housing are impacting (8) DCLG (2014) Statutory Homelessness: July to September • Housing becoming more expensive, especially in London housing conditions and the wider standard of living for an Quarter 2014 England • Increasing spending on housing benefits, decreasing funding for building increasing proportion of the population: in England alone https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/ new social and affordable housing there are 1 368 300 households on local authorities waiting uploads/attachment_data/file/385695/201409_Statutory_ Homelessness.pdf lists (6). Furthermore, 53 000 households have been In 2014, the European Commission issued the following recommendations to the UK: accepted as homeless and in priority need (7), and about • Increase the transparency of the use and impact of macro-prudential regulation in respect of the housing sector by the 60,000 households are in temporary accommodation (8). Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee. • Deploy appropriate measures to respond to the rapid increases in property prices in areas that account for a substantial share of economic growth in the United Kingdom, particularly London, and mitigate risks related to high mortgage indebtedness. • Monitor the Help to Buy 2 scheme and adjust it if deemed necessary. POLICY DEVELOPMENTS • Consider reforms to the taxation of land and property including measures on the revaluation of property to alleviate distortions in the housing market. Current policy responses focus mainly on demand-side • Continue efforts to increase the supply of housing.’

88

SOCIAL HOUSING IN THE EU: NEW OPPORTUNITIES NEW CHALLENGES SOCIAL HOUSING announcement of President Juncker at the end of 2014, HOUSING AND THE EUROPEAN housing policies in many member states. neither the Parliament, nor the Council seems willing to It is worth keeping in mind that housing is an issue coming IN THE EU: NEW OPPORTUNITIES include a specific reference to the use the EFSI to support ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE up more and more frequently in all of the main components NEW CHALLENGES key economic and social infrastructures like affordable (“THE EUROPEAN SEMESTER”) of the Semester process. housing in the fund regulations. The European Commission country reports were published We can conclude from the cross-country analysis as well Beyond the EU investment plan, in countries where The European Semester is the first phase of the EU's annual in March 2015 (for all EU 28), which include in-depth sufficient capital is not forthcoming, the public, cooperative as from the separate country profiles that while there have cycle of economic policy guidance and surveillance. Each reviews for 16 countries that were found to be ‘experiencing and social housing sector is looking for cooperation with been differences in the development of housing markets European Semester, the European Commission analyses macroeconomic imbalances’ (all reports are available here and support from the EU financing instruments, in particular from one country to another over the last year, housing the fiscal and structural reform policies of every Member http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/making-it-happen/ the European Investment Bank (EIB) remains a critical issue for many Europeans (ca. 20% of State, provides recommendations, and monitors their country-specific-recommendations/index_en.htm) Europeans dedicate more than 40% of their disposable implementation. In the second phase of the annual cycle, The reports show the EC is deepening its analysis of HOUSING EUROPE’S VIEW income to housing) and housing exclusion (measured by known as the National Semester, Member States implement housing markets and also extending it to some countries housing deprivation and number of homeless) increase in the policies they have agreed. that have never received recommendations in this area If the Fund for Strategic Investments does not prove to be most of the EU member states. Despite the illusion created Since the start of the European economic governance before (e.g. Belgium). useful for addressing Europe’s housing needs, this will be a largely through de-regulation in the financial sector in the process, housing markets and housing policies have It is interesting to see the EC is monitoring whether countries missed opportunity for integration and growth and jobs. In 2000-2008 period, no country has fully managed to provide come under scrutiny and the European Commission has have implemented housing-related recommendations, November 2014, the Taskforce of the EU on the Investment a structural solution to the challenge of meeting affordable issued numerous remarks and recommendations regarding notably in the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK. housing demand. Plan stated: “… shrinking regional and municipal budgets are having a negative impact on urban social services, EC monitoring of housing-related recommendations, 2014 – 2015: In this context the EU tries to avoid the permanent low- including the provision of social housing in several Member growth scenario by providing for new instruments to help State”. Housing Europe shares this view and stresses SMEs and others to invest in projects with high job creation again the great potential of EU financial and support and and growth potential. And once again, after the first EU capacity building for affordable housing projects in the EU economic recovery plan of 2008-2009, housing enters where it is currently not forthcoming. This should cover in the big picture as one key area to invest in. Housing is the construction of new homes, the reconversion of empty therefore on the EU agenda once again, not only because private properties to social housing, the refurbishment of housing has been part of the problem the EU is facing with the multi-family buildings. The economic and social impact but also because supporting public, cooperative and social of supporting social housing policies is clear. housing is part of the solution. It remains to be seen if these new instruments will in fact help to address housing needs. • BYPASSING THE FINANCIAL BARRIERS We can identify 6 other EU policy areas which have an impact or a potential impact on public, cooperative or social Responding to the demand for new homes has been a housing and require monitoring. challenge over the last years for the Scottish Housing Associations. Their inability to borrow finance to build social rental properties has constrained the delivery of 2000 HOUSING AND THE EU new dwellings. The main reasons behind this are linked with INVESTMENT PLAN scale, since many projects are small, with previous loan conditions which impose constrains on future borrowing The core of the Plan announced by the European as well as with unreasonable terms for new borrowing, Commission at the end of 2014 is the mobilisation of at least including short term, high cost and high interest rates. EUR 315 bn of additional investment over the next three The trade body of the Scottish Housing Associations and years. A new European Fund for Strategic Investments a Housing Europe member organisation, SFHA, taking (EFSI) will be set up in partnership between the Commission into consideration the pressing need for investment, has Based on the analysis carried out in the country reports and on the National Reform Programmes that and the EIB. To establish the European Fund for Strategic come up with an innovative strategy to bypass the financial Member States are expected to present by mid-April, the European Commission will present a new set of Investments, a guarantee, of EUR 16 bn, will be created barriers by setting up a not-for-profit company owned by country-specific recommendations in May 2015. under the EU budget to support the Fund. The EIB will the sector. commit EUR 5 bn. HOUSING EUROPE’S VIEW on housing show no real understanding of the stabilising The company will provide 3 major functions: and counter-cyclical role of public, cooperative and social In November 2014, the European Commission / EIB • Managing a revolving low or nil cost development fund, CSRs on housing to date have to some extent shown an housing. Most importantly, they do not adequately consider which will construct new homes Taskforce for the implementation of the Investment Plan overly simplistic call for liberalisation of housing markets to the long-term positive social impact of a healthy, diverse, • Aggregate up this new home provision into packages for stated in its report: “… shrinking regional and municipal solve issues of house prices and affordable housing. For accessible, affordable housing market. There is a notable budgets are having a negative impact on urban social financing by the private market example, Sweden CSR 3: “allow more market-oriented rent lack of recommendations which call for the implementation services, including the provision of social housing in several • Providing a way of circumventing loan covenant issues by levels by moving away from the utility value system and of integrated policies favouring social and affordable Member States…”. Social housing energy retrofit is included retaining ownership of the homes within the not for profit further liberalising certain segments of the rental market, housing or effective prevention policies addressing the rise under the heading energy efficiency/Energy Union under company and greater freedom of contract” in housing exclusion, even for countries where needs are illustrative projects ‘Investments supporting retrofitting of social housing to create energy -efficient housing’. The revolving development fund will require approximately £ There are several problems with such a CSR. Firstly, it very clear. ( an omission also noted noted by the European In January 2015, the EIB stated that it “is confident that 140 M to function in conjunction with the available subsidy. does not recognise the specificity of the Swedish housing Parliament – see below) the Juncker Plan will be a catalyst for the financing of The long term loan finance to replace this through the EIB, system, which is rather different to other countries and has For further information on the Annual Growth Survey social housing and associated investment in Community directly lending to the state based sector owned not-for- shown itself to work well over different economic cycles. ‘package’: http://ec.europa.eu/europe2020/making- development as a priority investment target provided the profit company is £ 140 M. The CSR does not justify its belief that getting rid of the rent it-happen/annual-growth-surveys/index_en.htm relevant eligibility criteria are met.” setting system will solve any issues with the housing supply Regarding the timeline, this new Scottish Fund for Social or prevent significant additional problems for tenants, Housing Europe together with the Semester Alliance led by At the time of writing it is not clear whether the Fund and Housing is expected to deliver 200 homes on site autumn/ including eviction and forms of homelessness. the European Anti-Poverty Network has been collaborating the EU guarantee which is attached to it will be adapted to spring 2016 and 900 units within the framework of the It is also problematic that the role of the social housing with Members of the European Parliament to try to ensure facilitate investment in social housing. Long term loans with annual programme in 2016 and in 2017. sector is confined to responding to ‘market failures’ – i.e. a more balanced approach with the resulting EP positions low interest rates are what is needed to invest in this sector taking care of the needs of the most vulnerable only. This which support our views: EP Report on the European which is complex in terms of the capital finance it requires is particularly evident also in the case of recommendations Semester for economic policy coordination: implementation but low risk in terms of return on investment. Despite the directed to the Netherlands. Overall, recommendations of 2014 priorities. (2014/2059(INI)). Committee on Economic

94 95 and Monetary Affairs. Rapporteur: Philippe De Backer and renewable energy use in public infrastructure, including http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc. in public buildings, and in the housing sector; do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+REPORT+A8-2014- 0019+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN Housing as social infrastructure – Article 5.9.a. […] Considers it regrettable that very few CSRs tackle the refers to investing in health and social infrastructure which issue of in-work poverty or homelessness; points out that contributes to national, regional and local development, Key new forms of poverty are emerging which affect the middle reducing inequalities in terms of health status, promoting and working classes, with difficulties in paying mortgages social inclusion through improved access to social, cultural resulting in an increase in the number of evictions and and recreational services and the transition from institutional foreclosures; calls on the Commission, in the 2015 AGS, to to community-based services; explicitly address in-work poverty and poverty among people with limited or no links to the labour market; recommends Urban regeneration – Article 5.9.b. refers to support to success that the Commission and the Member States implement for physical, economic and social regeneration of deprived integrated policies favouring social and affordable housing, communities in urban and rural areas; effective prevention policies aimed at reducing the number Regulation (EU) No 1304/2013 on the European Social Fund of evictions, and policies tackling energy poverty, which is (ESF) also provides for opportunities for the social housing also on the rise; sector. For instance the ESF can: will be • Enhance access to affordable, sustainable and high - • RESPONSIBLE HOUSING quality services, including health care and social services In the Responsible Housing campaign, the focus is on the of general interest identification and promotion of socially, environmentally • Promote Socio-economic integration of marginalised and economically sustainable housing practices and communities such as Roma policies. The European Responsible Housing the guarantee Initiative (www.responsiblehousing.eu/en) led by In combination with ERDF, it also can: Housing Europe, the International Union of Tenants, and • Support the shift towards a low-carbon, climate-resilient, DELPHIS (French network of housing providers and project resource-efficient and environmentally sustainable coordinator) recently succeeded in finalizing a twofold economy, through the improvement of education and voluntary agreement which allow housing stakeholders to training systems necessary for the adaptation of skills and make a commitment to implement the CSR principles in qualifications, the up-skilling of the labour force, and the creation of new jobs in sectors related to the environment for affordability housing delivery. A Code of Conduct for housing providers and a European and energy; Declaration were signed by EU stakeholders in the sector. Affordable housing providers agree on clear principles Is this potential being turned into real projects on for long term investment in building construction and the ground? renovation, neighbourhoods, human resources, and In the operational programmes designed by the regions, the fair relations with stakeholders, notably the tenants and first information related to housing expenditure shows an for residents residents. increase of funds dedicated to energy efficiency in housing, Through the European Declaration, housing stakeholders in particular in Central and Eastern Europe: call for the development of CSR in public, cooperative and • Energy efficiency in housing ( EC expenditure code 14); social housing. 6.10 bio € (this figure combines ERDF and cohesion fund for In addition, the first edition of the European Responsible central and eastern European countries) Housing Awards with entries from more than 70 • Investing in social infrastructures (urban regeneration, organisations from 12 EU countries showcased numerous etc.) ( EC expenditure code 65): for 8 countries of the best practices that have already proven to be effective in EU-13: 626 mio € many Countries around the EU. HOUSING EUROPE’S VIEW HOUSING AND EU REGIONAL Although it is not possible at this stage of the implementation POLICY (EUROPEAN STRUCTURAL to have a full and precise view on how Structural and AND INVESTMENT FUNDS) Investment Funds have been allocated to housing related programmes, we can already see a significant improvement What potential for assuring financial support in from last programming period in terms of planned the legal texts? expenditure (between 2007 and 2013 the total expenditure Regulation (EU) No 1301/2013 on the European Regional for housing related projects was around 2 bio€). There is a Development Fund provides for several opportunities for clear need to continue tracking optimal use and impact in housing. But contrary to the amendment of 2009 which the sector combined with capacity building and exchange mentions specifically energy refurbishment of housing as a of best practice with countries having a successful record priority for Structural Funds, affordable housing providers of use. will have to compete with sectors, like transport, energy infrastructures, innovation, which are more attractive for investors seeking short term and high rates of return on investment. There are at least 3 areas particularly relevant for social housing providers:

Energy efficiency in housing – Article 5.4.c provides for the support of energy efficiency, smart energy management

96 HOUSING AND THE EU years for the total gains for the health service to equalize the FINANCING OF ENERGY ENABLING EU LEGISLATION total investment costs. This only reflects the co-benefits on ENERGY UNION health, but there are many other co-benefits, as pointed out EFFICIENCY What the European Commission says by the International Energy Agency (IEA) Background What the European Commission says Thus for public, cooperative and social housing providers, “The EU has set itself the target of reaching at least 27% some elements of the Energy Union (Communication on energy savings by 2030. In 2015 and 2016, the Commission The Energy Union is a strategy proposed by the European “The Commission will support ways to simplify access Strategic Framework from the European Commission of will review all relevant energy efficiency legislation and will Commission and endorsed by Member States which to existing financing and offer ‘off-the-shelf’ financing 25th February 2015) are positive: propose revisions, where needed, to underpin the 2030 aims at making energy policies more coherent in the EU templates for financial instruments to the European target.” and making them contribute to the fight against climate Structural and Investment Funds managing authorities and change. It is based on the three long-established objectives NEEDS AND EMPOWERMENT interested stakeholders, promote new financing schemes HOUSING EUROPE’S VIEW of EU energy policy: security of supply, sustainability and OF CITIZENS based on risk and revenue sharing, develop new financing competitiveness. To reach these objectives, the Energy techniques and support in terms of technical assistance. There is a widespread consensus in the European Union that Union focuses on five mutually supportive dimensions: What the European Commission says Financial support needs to be combined with technical to achieve the energy transition and meet the collectively Energy security, solidarity and trust; the internal energy support to help aggregate small scale projects into larger agreed objectives in terms of reduction of GHG emissions, market; energy efficiency as a contribution to the moderation “Facilitating the participation of consumers in the energy programmes which can drive down transaction costs and we need to accelerate the average rate of renovation in the of energy demand; decarbonisation of the economy; and transition through smart grids, smart home appliances, attract the private sector at scale.” residential sector. research, innovation and competitiveness. smart cities, and home automation systems;” However there is strong divergence of views on how to HOUSING EUROPE’S VIEW increase the renovation rate. HOUSING EUROPE’S VIEW “The Commission will continue to push for standardisation While some stakeholders call for a new legislation in the and to support the national roll-out of smart meters and to While there is huge potential for energy efficiency gains in field of energy efficiency in buildings, providers of social, For public, cooperative and social housing, the Energy promote the further development of smart appliances and the buildings, the measures needed are not always cost cooperative and public housing share the view that the Union is important since it sets out a strategy to move smart grids, so that flexible energy use is rewarded”. effective for housing providers –even over the long term. challenge lies in implementing fully and efficiently the current towards a fair energy transition and could help to address “Further enforcement of public service obligations for the We need to ensure that the renovation of housing will framework (EPBD and EED) in promoting approaches that some of the main barriers to successful renovation of protection of vulnerable energy consumers through energy be among the eligible projects to the various EU funding have proven successful on the ground and in continued housing. A first obstacle is the gap between predicted schemes/tariffs or preferably general welfare systems” opportunities. Such projects require long term and low- support for research and innovation. and actual energy performances and the low renovation cost capital financing, thus a public support in one form We know that many countries are struggling to implement quality. To overcome this, we need builders to guarantee HOUSING EUROPE’S VIEW or another. Indeed a clear obstacle is the long payback the measures proposed so far and that measures vary in energy performance of renovated and newly built homes time on investment, reducing interest of private investors usefulness from country to country. The need for flexibility over extended periods - some practitioners expect a period The EC has not yet fully acknowledged the role of local or energy service contractors and resulting in a tendency for member states to meet the goals in different ways while of 30 years. We also need to explore the possible use of communities (cities, neighbourhoods, tenants union, etc.) to implement only superficial measures offering short- ensuring affordability is vital. industrialised and pre-fabrication methods to bring down not only regarding the behavioural change, but also for term returns. What we need is a subsidy covering the gap costs and assure consistent quality of refurbishment. funding and training purposes. between energy efficiency measures that are profitable for • ENERGY EFFICIENCY Overall, solutions need to integrate renewable energy the housing company in the long run and the climate goals, AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING production, insulation, ventilation and reduction of energy Housing renovation to reduce energy consumption and a guarantee that energy savings not covered by up-front consumption of appliances. bills is an integrated part of effective neighbourhood city costs and energy production made over the lifetime of the The Power House nearly Zero Energy Challenge or regional-wide energy transition planning. This must be project is covered by subsidies. Key to success will be the (http://www.powerhouseeurope.eu/home/power_ Another set of obstacles relates to the low demand for seen in the context of job creation, therefore reducing the guarantee for affordability for residents. deep refurbishments due to perceived inconvenience, low social and economic costs related to unemployment, the house_nearly_zero_energy_challenge_partners/ value for money of works (including the lack of trust) and burden of which is felt by the whole neighbourhood, city, the_project/) is a dynamic platform active over the last six preference given to aesthetic improvements or renewed region, and country... Also, this links directly into reducing ENERGY MARKET INTEGRATION years in stimulating the greening of the sector across Europe kitchens/bathrooms. Here, we need refurbishments which fuel poverty and its health impacts, the cost of which and boosting the number of "nearly zero energy" homes can be carried out over a shorter time and allow residents is transferred to health services, empowering citizens What the European Commission says across the continent by sharing experience and expertise to stay at home. Community outreach before and after financially by increasing purchasing power and through the between social housing professionals. To do this it builds renovation helps to build trust among residents. Evidence increased comfort which is often one of the most important “Market integration of renewable electricity generation confidence by assisting Social Housing Organisations in the shows that aesthetic finish leads to high interest among demand-side considerations. This is also very closely linked requires flexible markets, both on the supply and demand identification of avoidable mistakes and wasted time spent neighbourhoods where pilots have been completed. to the cost of energy saving measures. side, within and beyond a Member State's borders. on reinventing the wheel to get on track to meet tightening Electricity grids must therefore evolve significantly. There is standards such as the nearly-Zero 2015, 2018 and 2020 One last obstacle is the long payback time on investment, There are also limitations to the effect of smart devices on a need to expand the possibilities for distributed generation obligations outlined in national legislation based on the reducing interest of private investors or energy service consumption reduction which must be evaluated and taken and demand-side management, including intraday markets, European Energy Performance of Building Directive. contractors and resulting in a tendency to implement only into account. to develop new high-voltage long distance connections Furthermore, via an on-line consumption monitoring superficial measures offering short-term returns. What we The housing organisations are doing a lot to make the (supergrids) and new storage technologies”. software, progress on refurbishment rates and reduction need is a guarantee that energy savings will cover the up- energy use effective, but it is also based on the behaviour in energy consumption and CO2 emissions and front costs and energy production made over the lifetime of the persons living in the buildings. In order to make the HOUSING EUROPE’S VIEW renewable energy generation is being entered by local of the project. Key to success will be the guarantee for energy consumption lower and make the future energy housing organisations and made visible. Based on field affordability for residents. market possible, we need to include the tenants, we need The market redesign announced by the European experience, numerous study visits, close monitoring and neutral information and training. Commission needs to take into account the regulatory extensive exchange with relevant stakeholders across Investing in energy efficient social housing has many proven issues that prevent locally based production of renewable Europe 10 basic lessons (http://www.theguardian. positive effects on growth, social cohesion and environment HOUSING EUROPE’S PROPOSAL energy (energy cooperatives, community-based projects, com/housing-network/2014/jun/03/10-lessons- quality. Beyond the direct effect on energy performance of micro-grids, etc.) Support is needed to cover the up-front europe-energy-efficiency) ranging from off-site retrofit dwellings, those measures help to save costs in other policy ESIF (ERDF and ESF) , ERASMUS + and H2020 programmes cost of these investments and it should be on equal terms techniques to funding matters and training schemes for areas. should be used to support local energy communities and a for all tenures, not dis-favouring multifamily buildings. residents were recently published. potential wide range of activities (financing and installation of Member states should be encouraged to eliminate barriers For instance in Northern Ireland, the estimated cost of local energy production capacities linked to social housing for distributed generation in and on buildings and in eliminating/renovating the most energy consuming houses providers, training of residents and unemployed tenants to neighbourhoods. would be of nearly 600 million Euros. At the same time the help them contribute to the low-carbon economy). estimated annual savings to Health Service would be 40 million euro per annum, which means that it would take 13

98 99 HOUSING procurement has been published at the end of 2014. It will services and housing can vary from one region to another. have to be implemented by member states by April 2016. (direct provision of full package of adapted housing and AND THE EU COMPETITION care services by the social housing provider, provision of ...the challenge AND INTERNAL MARKET The main provisions are: permanent housing in combination with floating support • Authorization for social housing companies considered providing by external care service providers, etc.), there of independent FRAMEWORK as entities governed by public law to cooperate with one is a growing sense of necessity to involve the users and another without tendering process. their families in designing the support (the so called “co- STATE AIDS • Reaffirmation of respect of freedom of Member States to production”). living in an ageing define and organize services of general economic interest Over the last decade, there has been much conflict and • Sanctioning violations of labour law, social law In a broader context, the challenge of independent living society urges debate over the European Union (EU) state aid authorities’ and environmental law by bidders in an ageing society urges social housing providers to actions aiming at ensuring a level playing field on a number • No modification of the concept of contracting authority cooperate with a wide range of stakeholders from various of national housing markets. Housing Europe members • No change in thresholds above which tendering process sectors (health, homelessness…) within the community, social housing are mainly defined as undertakings entrusted with the are obligatory: 5 000 000 for works and EUR 130 000 for even more now that communities and neighbourhoods are operation of services of general economic interest. services hit by unemployment and poverty as well as new migration providers Housing Europe’s members’ mission is indeed to provide • Broadening the concept of reserved markets flows. Working together may require a cultural shift for many decent and affordable homes for people who cannot find • Promote the use of lots: stakeholders including social housing providers, but it is accommodation on the free market and to make sure • Selection of participants: sole criterion of the economically now recognised as the most cost effective way to provide to cooperate that those people can live in neighbourhoods that are most advantageous offer applicable housing to people with complex needs. economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. • Possibility to impose in the tender specification social, with a wide range environmental criteria but always this should always be in Other issues that the EU programmes can help addressing The Commission Decision of 20 December 2011 on connection with the contract are migration (both refugees and labour migrants from the the application of Article 106(2) TFEU to State Aid in the • Introduction of the concept of life cycle to take into EU or third countries) and youth poverty. of stakeholders form of public service compensation granted to certain account in the selection criteria undertakings entrusted with the operation of SGEIs allows HOUSING EUROPE’S VIEW from various social housing providers (when considered as a service HOUSING EUROPE’S VIEW of general economic interest) to receive state support EU policies have an increasing impacting on housing but in whichever form without notification to the European The new Directives offer flexibility to housing providers often reveal a blind spot to the diverse housing needs and sectors within Commission. The Decision states (recital 11) : “undertakings to include environmental and social criteria in their the urgent responses required to what in some cities and in charge of social services, including the provision of procurement practices however more clarity is needed to regions is a housing and even a humanitarian emergency. the community, social housing for disadvantaged citizens or socially less reduce doubts and fears of mistakes. There is a need to There is a need for European policies which recognise and advantaged groups, who due to solvency constraints are improve legal skills in the management of these possibilities respect this diversity where it exists, fosters it where it does unable to obtain housing at market conditions, should also and a clear call to the European Commission for additional not and thereby contribute to the common goal of meeting even more now benefit from the exemption from notification provided for in practical guidelines. housing needs. This requires a coherent constructive this Decision”. The European Commission therefore gives informed approach to housing across all economic, social that communities in this text its interpretation or definition of what should the HOUSING and environmental policy domains. The horizontal nature of kind of social housing exempted from state aid notification: housing makes achieving this coherence challenging. As a and “social housing for disadvantaged citizens or socially less AND THE EU SOCIAL POLICIES step in tackling the lack of oversight, Housing Europe has advantaged groups, who due to solvency constraints are made steps to establishment a Housing Reference Group unable to obtain housing at market conditions”. This has Despite the persistence of high level of unemployment, (January 2014) made up of Members of the European neighbourhoods triggered a series of complaints by private promoters who poverty, housing overburden and housing deprivation in Parliament open to supporting a more coherent approach consider that social housing organise receive undue state the EU, the European Commission has no clear strategy at EU. support because they do not focus exclusively on this on how to meet those challenges from a social policy point are hit by group of the population. The European Court of Justice of view The main instruments at the moment are funding • SOCIAL INNOVATION will probably issue in 2015 a potentially landmark ruling on programmes (the European Social Fund is part of the AGAINST HOUSING EXCLUSION unemployment the extent to which the European Commission can have a European Structural Funds) and the Employment and Social competence on the definition and scope of the provision of Innovation (EaSI) programme is a financing instrument at Another area where Housing Europe is working to social housing (T-202/10 RENV - Stichting Woonlinie and EU level to promote a high level of quality and sustainable foster innovation and gain recognition for the sector in and poverty... Others v Commission) employment, guaranteeing adequate and decent social meeting societal challenges is through the piloting of new protection, combating social exclusion and poverty and cooperation systems between different sectors to address HOUSING EUROPE’S VIEW improving working conditions. and address social problems and to highlight the essential role of housing providers in the delivery of integrated social EU state aid guidelines have an everyday impact on how Those programmes can help housing providers to face the services. Part of their daily job is to understand customers' member states design their housing systems. There is a new challenges of housing exclusion and work for people needs and provide early support, which could take various need to evaluate the current framework’s capacity to serve with complex housing needs. Nowadays providers of social forms: from employment and skills training to advice on its purpose and more importantly whether it is adapted to the housing share the belief that housing should be a place welfare support and direct care provision. new and changing housing realities facing our populations. where dignity is protected and where the least well off are Social housing providers need to be further trained and The review of the legal framework (Almunia Package) may not priced out. The challenge is that people living in the supported to work with other sectors in order to promote this take place in early 2015. There is a clear need for more social housing sector tend to be at the same time younger successful approach to integration. A universal training room for manoeuvre for Member States, local authorities and older as well as poorer than the general population. pack (www.elosh.eu), as a result of a wide international and housing providers to implement housing policies which The economic crisis and its social consequences further collaboration between 14 housing associations, providers of answer their national, regional and local needs. widen the gap between social housing tenants and the social services, academic institutions and NGOs, will soon rest of the population in terms of socio-demographic be available to guide interested organisations through this PUBLIC PROCUREMENT characteristics. Another challenge and objective for social cross-sectorial cooperation by providing European Core housing organisations is to enable adults and older people Learning Outcomes for integration of Support and After various consultations on the modernization of public with physical and mental health care needs to live at home Housing. The pack is structured following the values of the procurement directives with the view to allow simplification independently, while providing a focal point for community concept of ‘co-production’ that creates a truly dynamic in the tendering practices, a new directive on public services and activities. Although the model of provision of relationship between service providers and service users.

100 101 WHICH DIRECTION FOR HOUSING POLICIES AFTER THE CRISIS? They thus obtained via Brussels what the Swedish in bringing proceedings, unlike other stakeholders. parliament had refused them up until now in the name of WHICH FUTURE social democracy and the effective implementation of the WAITING FOR The Court of Justice decision to refer the case back to the right to housing for everyone. In addition, instead of the General Court is a clear signal by the judges that the merit FOR HOUSING legal security promised, we see a growing dispute and an THE COURT’S of the case cannot be left unaddressed. Social housing increase in the number of state aid checks, in particular in corporations did the work of member states by appealing the allocation of Structural Funds. the Commission's decision and decision making practice POLICIES AFTER RULING before the Court of Justice. It is now for the states to The recent measures adopted in the area of economic After years of proceedings, the EU General Court will soon intervene before the General Court, asserting clearly and THE CRISIS? governance have amplified the intensity of this influence. The be ruling on the substance of the European Commission's expressly their exclusive competence to determine the country-specific recommendations defined in the context recent but established practice of manifest error in the scope of social public services and more specifically to LAURENT GHEKIERE of the ‘European semester’ are binding measures that classification of social services of general interest (SGEIs). establish the conditions for the allocation of social housing Chairman of Housing Europe Observatory may challenge the political choices of EU member states What is now known as the 'Dutch case' saw the European in terms of local needs and their collective and societal in terms of rental policy. For example, can the Swedish Commission confront the Dutch the government over the preferences. The crisis hasn’t spared social housing. Economic models parliament refuse to abrogate the rent negotiation system, a definition and scope of social housing in the domestic combining banking finance from the market and significant recommendation proposed by DG Ecfin and approved in the housing market. Behind this residual conception of social services spelled public aid have not coped well. Ireland, Italy, Spain and Council of Ministers? What about the EU Member States’ out by the Commission in its decision on the Netherlands Portugal are experiencing breaks in the continuity of public right to preserve their so-called ‘exclusive’ competence in The Commission's requirement that authorities set an lie societal challenges, such as social diversity and urban social housing services. In these countries, the withdrawal terms of housing policy? This is a subsidiarity subject to a income ceiling for access to social housing and the difficult diversity, on which no competition authority is competent to of banks from the sector and the suppression of public aid toll of some kind. It is a hot issue in France where such a negotiation of its amount by the Kroes cabinet and the rule. The level of member states' participation in the General for investment has virtually stopped new social housing framing of rents is being debated in the National Assembly government led the then-prime minister to set a red line on Court's proceedings will be a clear signal to citizens of their determination to bring this derailment under political control construction. and in the Senate as part of the Duflot law inspired by the the Lisbon Treaty meaning. and to put an end to this manifest error of assessment of By contrast, economic models based on long term financing German model. How can countries thus undo in the Council From this struggle a new protocol specific to SGEIs existing legislative provisions in domestic law or being the manifest error. mechanisms that are highly regulated, such as dedicated emerged, which establishes member states' full jurisdiction debated in their own parliament? savings accounts or real estate bonds (Denmark, Austria, to define and organise SGEIs and lays down the principle of As for Greece’s recovery plan imposed by the Troika, this France) and on diversified public aid have coped with the universal access and meeting the needs of local users. But has led to the suppression of social housing considered as crisis better. In these countries, social housing plays a it will take more than that to get the European competition a good that does not come under the category of primary countercyclical role in terms of investment and jobs while authority to shift its practice in this area. need. The issue of the legitimacy of these decisions is ensuring continuity in the public service and the availability Taking advantage of this breach, private operators launched now being questioned. Besides the issue of the conflict of an affordable supply of housing. numerous proceedings in Sweden, Luxembourg, Belgium over competence, these decisions directly impact the and most recently in France. In Sweden, the government purchasing power of several million households as housing The EU influence is structural. The Member States’ even decided not to enter into a battle with the Commission, is not only the main item of their expenditure but one whose choices on how to organize, finance and define the choosing instead to simply remove social housing from the cost keeps growing. How can one explain to Europeans scope of intervention on the housing market, are strictly scope of SGEIs to keep from having to set income ceilings. that, in terms of state aid or macroeconomic governance, framed by Brussels. The principle of subsidiarity, the wide the European Parliament has been quite simply swept aside discretionary margins of appreciation in the definition of from the legislative process? The legal certainty announced by the Monti package in this public service mission have been challenged by the 2005 gave way to an unprecedented wave of litigation in Commission in the context of its check on state aid for Numerous factors contribute to the maintenance of a high this sector. Nearly 7.6 million European households Dutch social housing. Private operators have rushed into level of demand for housing in the EU. Residential mobility living in social housing are potentially concerned by these this gap, with a big increase in the number of complaints in is growing and comes hand in hand with professional cases and face the risk of being caught in the middle, as in Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and lately mobility and demand is concentrated in the urban areas the Netherlands: too rich to obtain or keep access to social in France. This mobilisation of private actors is proportional where jobs and services are to be found but also where housing but too poor to afford housing on the private market. to the effectiveness of the social sector to influence the the shortcomings of the market are structural in terms of Dutch housing corporations appealed the Commission’s general conditions of access to housing. The bigger and accessibility. decision, backed by their French counterparts and by more structured it is, the more it gets attacked. Brussels The demographic and sociological evolutions weaken Housing Europe - the European federation of public, has become a gateway for private actors to challenge the the creditworthiness of demand, in particular for elderly cooperative and social housing. choices of national parliaments in terms of housing policy people and single parent families, where the offer is either on which they have not been able to exert their influence unsuitable in terms of products or inaccessible in terms of In the wake of the judgement handed down by the Court in the context of the national debate. These complaints costs. of Justice on 27 February 2014 in Case C-132/12 P, which have led to in-depth reforms of the scope and economic sets aside the General Court ruling of 16 December 2011 model for social housing in the Netherlands and Sweden. The social and urban diversity and the accessibility in Case T-202/10 (Stichting Woolinie and others versus Challenging the principle of universal access by introducing of the offer of housing are the major challenges that European Commission), the latter case has been sent back a single ceiling of income of €33,000 per year has deeply European towns will have to face up to with their growing to the General Court for a decision on the merits. shaken the Dutch economic model for social housing concentration. Social housing, as a public service, must The question that arises is whether the member states and the residential mobility of households. In addition to be in a position to respond to these new challenges. can file an application to intervene in the proceedings the administrative burden of checking the income of two The European Union must guarantee and not hamper its in the case as referred back to the General Court (Case million household tenants, a number of them have found accessibility, its flexibility and universality. It must support it T-202/10 RENV) and thus to reiterate to the EU court their themselves, from one day to the next, between two stools: through Structural Funds and its Cohesion Policy and give full jurisdiction for defining SGEIs, including social services too rich to access or maintain themselves in social housing up on the disproportionate bureaucratic burden on a local of general interest. but not rich enough to access the private sector. More public service that is deeply anchored in the local realities. worrying is the fact that a form of blackmail has emerged "MANIFEST ERROR OF ASSESSMENT in the Community dispute. In a striking example in Sweden, OF THE MANIFEST ERROR!" THE BALL IS NOW private operators withdrew their complaint about state IN THE MEMBER STATES' COURT. aid to social housing on the same day as the government announced its decision not to define municipal housing as Analysis of the Court of Justice and General Court a service of general interest and to end the public service judgements confirms member states' capacity to intervene compensation granted to municipal housing companies. in the case without having to demonstrate any legal interests

104 105 Poland NOTES TBS HOUSING ZRSM RP

EUROPE Portugal CECODHAS

MEMBERS Spain Find out more about our members on our website AVS http://www.housingeurope.eu/section-22/our-members CONCOVI

Armenia Sweden ASBA HSB - home of opportunities SABO Austria RIKSBYGGEN GBV Switzerland Belgium SVW / ASH Fesocolab FLW Turkey SLRB TÜRKKENT SWL United Kingdom VMSW CHC BSHF Czech Republic NHF SCMBD NIFHA NIHE Denmark SFHA B.L. (Boligselskabernes Landsforening)

Estonia EKÜL

Finland Kunta-asunnot Oy

France ESH USH Les Offices Publics de l'Habitat FNAR HLM FNCOOP HLM

Germany GdW

Hungary LOSZ

Ireland ICSH NABCO

Italy Alleanza delle Cooperative Italiane – Settore Abitazione FEDERCASA

Luxemburg SNHBM FDLH

Netherlands AEDES

Norway NBBL

106 NOTES Housing Europe is the European Federation of Public, Cooperative Social Housing

Established in 1988, it is a network of 42 national and regional federations which together gather about 41.400 public, social and cooperative housing providers in 22 countries. Altogether they manage over 25 million homes, about 12% of existing dwellings in the EU. Social, public and co-operative housing providers have a vision of a Europe which provides access to decent and affordable housing for all in communities which are socially, economically and environmentally sustainable and where everyone is enabled to reach their full potential. www.housingeurope.eu #housingEU